Steven J. Loe

With WWII ending the year prior, people expected a better life than before the war years with the Great Depression causing poverty and hardship worldwide. Most manufacturing had been focused during the past five years on the War effort but 1946 saw the development of Tupperware, AT&T announced the concept of their first car phones and Bikinis went on sale in Paris. There were still major shortages in jobs and housing for those returning from war and around the world and the baby boom also started as couples married and had children. Some of the births in 1946 included Tommy Lee Jones, Jimmy Buffett, Cher, Dolly Parton and Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Among these births, Guy L. and Betty J. (Mock) Loe welcomed Steven J. Loe into their hearts and home. Steve was born on December 4, 1946 at the Lucky Hospital in Wolf Lake, Indiana.

Steve's father was a farmer and worked hard to provide for his family, moving around quite a bit as a rented farmer. Guy and Betty would go on to have four more children, but unfortunately after Steve turned 5, his mom would pass away shortly after giving birth to his infant sister, Linda. Life would be hard for Steve and his family after this and at a young age he learned the value of hard work and helped his dad farm. While attending Churubusco High School, Steve played on the school's football team but in his sophomore year he left school and started farming full time. He would go on to earn his GED and an Associates Degree from Ivy Tech later in life.

In 1966, Steve wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, who had served as a gunner for the Navy during WWII and would join U.S. Navy. Steve was stationed at the Chicago Pier until September of 1968 and was honorably discharged on March 8, 1971 after passing an exam for an E-4 ranking. After the military, Steve continued farming and started working in the manufacturing industry. He worked at Harvester in Fort Wayne until they closed in 1980 and went on to work in Warsaw at OTHE and BioMet. Steve would finish his work career working for Dana Weatherhead and retired from Dana Spicer Axel in Fort Wayne in the early 2000's.

On August 29, 1970 at Columbia City First Church of God, Steve married Pamela McClure. He was a member of Tri-Lakes Baptist Church and was an avid street rod enthusiast. He loved cars and being a guy who enjoyed working with his hands and being mechanically inclined, Steve liked working on and restoring street rods. He taught his daughters how to take care of their own cars before they could drive. He taught them not only how to check tire pressure and oil levels, but also, they had to change their own tires and oil. Steve and Pam would travel around attending car shows and even made a trip to the Street Rod Nationals one year in Kentucky. They enjoyed traveling in their car, camping, going to Niagara Falls, Gatlinburg, Las Vegas and made a trip traveling throughout Canada.

Steve liked the "idea of fly fishing" and stayed busy tinkering around with anything. He found relaxation in helping a friend by sharpening all the saw blades for his tree removal company. He also found relaxation in watching channels like SciFi, Spike TV, MAV TV and Velocity along with Westerns. He never would miss the Summer or Winter Olympics and appreciated the art of ice figure skating.

With a great sense of humor, Steve enjoyed joking around with loved ones. He would often call his family members after retirement just to let they know, unlike them, he was not working. You could always tell how much Steve liked you by the effort he put in to teasing and giving you a hard time. He was very dependable and reliable, thought of others first and would always be there to help anyone out. Out of everything in life, Steve loved and enjoyed time with his family. Unfortunately at 10:41 a.m. on Saturday, February 2, 2019, Steven J. Loe passed away at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne at the age of 72.

He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Pamela Loe, of Tri-Lakes; daughters, Brandie Kreps, of Tri-Lakes; Cara (Aaron) Likens, of Wolcottville; grandchildren, Dakota (Sara Hodgini) Kreps, Jaegar Kreps, Vincent Likens and Hazel Likens; great-grandchildren, Chance and Paisley; brother, Dan (Judy) Loe, of Columbia City; and sister, Mary Ann Roberts, of Columbia City. He was preceded in death by his parents, Guy and Betty Loe; infant sister, Linda Loe; and brother, Terry Loe.

Steve's service will begin 12 p.m. Friday, February 8, 2019 at DeMoney-Grimes, a Life Story Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Dr., Columbia City with Pastor Brad Fredrickson officiating, and military honors will be rendered by the U.S. Navy. Visitation will follow from 12:30 to 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given in his memory toward his final expenses, I.C.O DeMoney-Grimes. Visit www.demoneygrimes.com to send his family condolences online.