Steve Schoen died peacefully at home on February 8, 2021, after a courageous battle with cancer.

Steve was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, on June 27, 1949, to Henry "Hank" and Dolores (Poff) Schoen; he proudly remained a Missouri resident for life.

Steve was a good son and big brother to his three younger siblings:  Paula, Susan and Kevin.  He made a cherished lifelong friend during childhood in Bill Stains, as the two traversed the streets of St. Jo together on foot, before and after days spent in Catholic school, serving as altar boys. Steve's Catholic upbringing set a solid foundation for his life and he relied heavily upon his faith, especially during his recent illness.

Steve reinvented himself many times in his life, both personally and professionally, always finding new interests.  In his youth, Steve worked part-time as a local radio DJ and subsequently at a tv station.  (He definitely had a voice for broadcast media, apparently even in his teens.) He was interested in photography and hung out just to learn at Bray Studio in St. Jo.

He married his true love, Sandra K. Dysart, in 1970 and immediately began a family with the birth of their son Robert in 1971.  After Steve graduated from Missouri Western College, they relocated to Warrensburg, where Steve received his Masters Degree and began work as Manager of Photo Services for Central Missouri State University.

Steve and Sandy added to their family during this time with the birth of their son Christopher in 1981.   They made more friends for life in Don and Diana Alfermann.  Steve had many wonderful times with the Alfermanns as the years passed, too many to count.   Steve always said Don was the big brother he never had.  Betty Crosland also entered their lives during the Warrensburg years and she remained a devoted friend to Sandy, then Steve, ever after.

In 1985, Steve was hired at Southwest Missouri State University and the family moved to Springfield.  Steve worked as Director of Photo Services for several years, subsequently transferring to the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, where he held several positions until his retirement in 2002.

Steve had nearly 25 wonderful years as Sandy's husband before she passed away on Good Friday 1995, years before the two should have been parted here on earth.  In September of 1996, he wed Melanie Stemmons and once again found joy in his marriage to her.  They had been married just shy of 24.5 years at the time of his death.

Steve took EARLY retirement at the age of 52 and made the most of his coming years. Steve loved the outdoors, even though he was not much for exercise!  He lived to travel and camp with Melanie and their beloved dogs. He took up fly fishing until his back wouldn't tolerate the hours of standing it required.  He loved Bennett Spring State Park.  State and national parks were some of his favorite places to explore, along with the western U.S.  Until his illness, you would nearly always find him on his back deck, sitting in the shade of his maple tree, enjoying the sights and sounds of the koi pond he constructed in 1998.

Steve loved to cook and eat. He expressed his love for others by feeding them. Two of his specialties were his Grandpa Poff's meatballs and tri-tip prepared on the charcoal grill.  He developed an interest in outdoor dutch oven cooking and enjoyed getting outfitted with all the proper supplies and learning the technique.  He was always on the lookout for a good pork tenderloin sandwich.  He loved all food, but his favorite meal was fried chicken and bean soup at the Monte Ne Inn in Rogers, Arkansas.

At the time of his passing, he had been immersed in the hobby of geocaching for over 10 years, something that brought him great pleasure.  He made more good friends, especially chuck80196 and TeamGrunyun, who knew him as "Shoney1" in the geocaching community. Steve was extremely proud of his caching stats, having found over 15,000 caches and hidden over 800 caches since 2010.  He was listed in the top 25 geocachers in Missouri for several years.  Steve was ALWAYS ready to find a cache or hide a cache or talk geocaching.  Caching allowed him to be outdoors and see many interesting places and things he would have never otherwise experienced. Ozarkswatch Video Magazine did a story on Steve that can be viewed here .

When his physical limitations began slowing him down in 2020, he took up painting ala Bob Ross.  Even his first attempt was wonderful.  For several months he created canvases of the mountains he loved to visit and attempted a few seascapes, then happily gifted his creations to friends and family.

Steve became a proud grandpa in 1998, a joy he would experience two more times in his life.  He was a jokester and a tease, with an ornery sense of humor and a sly grin.  He loved rooting for the KC Chiefs, watching PBS Create, and listening to Tom Petty.

Steve is survived by his wife, Melanie; sons Rob and Chris; grandchildren Nicholas, Victoria and Henry Schoen; siblings Paula Paden, Sue (Jack) McBee and Kevin (Johnna) Schoen; mothers-in-law Phyllis Berg and Gail Stemmons; eldest nieces Stephanie Appleby and Renee Samuels; and numerous other nieces and nephews, cousins, and relatives by marriage.

The family would like to thank Integrity Hospice, particularly Angela and Carolyn, for their compassionate caregiving to Steve during the last few months.  Melanie also especially recognizes the much-needed support from Paula, Sue and Gail; the ceaseless cards and prayers of Melba, Carolyn and Marilyn (nee Alfermann); and the tireless ministry of fellow IC parishioner Jim Moore.

The prospect of contracting Covid 19 -- with a likely unfavorable outcome, given his specific illness -- prevented Steve from enjoying the company of friends and family for much of the last year.  His final wish was that everyone do their part to curb the spread of this virus by masking up, maintaining social distancing and giving strong consideration to receiving the vaccine.

Private Funeral Mass will be held for the family.