I finally finished Steve's obituary... it is apparently too long to print in newspapers without paying a bazillion dollars so I'm posting it on social instead.

Steve DeAngelo died at home with his family on May 14, 2024, at 45 years old. Steve was taken too soon from this world after a lengthy battle with esophageal cancer. He was a loving and loved husband, dad, son, brother, uncle, nephew, grandson, and friend. 

Steve was born in Lake Arrowhead, CA in 1979, and was instantly loved by many, but especially his family: Julie (mom), Mark (dad), Alex (younger brother), and Megan (younger sister). As an adolescent, his family moved to Truckee, CA where Steve spent much of his teenage years hanging out with friends around Donner Lake and the Truckee River. Steve graduated from Truckee High School in 1997 and decided to leave his small town behind by joining the army to see the world. After finishing bootcamp and training, Steve was stationed back in Southern CA at Ft. Irwin, not exactly seeing the world, but specializing in signal support systems as part of the Ironhorse Squadron 1/11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. He earned the sharpshooter marksmanship badge with an automatic rifle bar and received numerous medals for good conduct and achievements throughout his time in the army. 

In 2007, Steve’s wife, Melissa, was drawn to his “clean on the outside, rocker on the inside” persona on Yahoo Personals as pioneers of online dating. From the moment they met they were inseparable. They married on a rainy day in June 2009 at Edgewood Golf Resort in South Lake Tahoe, surrounded by their closest family and friends.  

Though in the early days of their relationship, Steve insisted he would make a great uncle someday, implying fathership was not in his future, in 2012, Melissa and Steve welcomed their first son, Rylan, and three years later, their second son, Shane. They also rescued many dogs over the years, and their four current pups are absolutely devastated by his absence. Steve was an amazing dad and loved spending time with his boys. He was the world’s best tickle monster and enjoyed cuddling on the couch while playing video games or watching tv. He carved the best pumpkins and was always doing things to show his family how much he loved them. He had a wicked sweet tooth, known for his love of candy and chocolate, and he also enjoyed cooking. Steve always said the most important decision while cooking was picking the right music to listen to while making the food. 

Steve always loved music – listening to it and playing it. It brought him joy to introduce new bands to family and friends. He could talk for hours about music. He was also a talented bass player who was always committed to learning more about his craft. While growing up, he loved being in jazz band, marching band, and any band that would allow him. He learned to play bass guitar, bass clarinet, and percussion. 

His favorite band was Metallica, having seen them 15 times over the years in various locations along the West coast. At his wedding, he walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of “Nothing Else Matters.” Steve was planning to see Metallica again this summer in Seattle with Rylan, Shane, and his best friend, Josh. This was to be the boys’ first concert and Melissa is planning to go in Steve’s place because that is what he would have wanted. 

Another love of Steve’s was the Detroit Lions. As a teen, Steve was mesmerized by the captivating performances of Barry Sanders, the greatest running back of all time for the Detroit Lions and became a fiercely loyal Lions fan from that point forward. Even during their worst seasons (0-16) and with an opportunity to switch teams when moving up to Washington, Steve’s loyalty remained strong. Melissa took Steve to see his first professional football game in 2007, when the Lions beat the Oakland Raiders, and was able to surprise Steve with a trip to Detroit in 2021, during his cancer fight, to watch them play a home game in Ford Field, surrounded by fellow Lions fans in their Honolulu blue.  Steve watched every Lions game he could by purchasing an NFL package to watch out of area teams, and finally got to see them have their best year yet in 2023/2024 when they clenched a spot in the NFL playoffs and won the NFC North divisional title. At Steve and Melissa’s wedding, there were Detroit Lions elements woven throughout the details, even the guestbook was a Detroit Lions jersey. 

Throughout life, Steve was a very curious person, always wanting to know how things worked and asking questions about seemingly random things like “If you own square footage of a property, you own left to right, but how far down into the Earth do you own?” or “Is a burger a sandwich?”, which he firmly believed it was, much to Melissa’s dismay. He also enjoyed putting together puzzles and building Legos with his family. 

Movies and tv shows were another source of enjoyment for Steve. Some of his favorites were Back to the Future and Indiana Jones, though he also enjoyed a good thrill and made Melissa watch semi-scary horror shows when she allowed it once a year during October. He was also a big Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars fan, and enjoyed sharing those fandoms with his family. 

Though the last four and a half years were incredibly challenging, Steve fought harder than anyone could have imagined, always with a smile and positive attitude. He endured countless treatments, radiation, brain surgeries, all for his family and friends, which he loved endlessly. Steve will never be forgotten and will live on in our memories until we meet again. "So close no matter how far / Couldn't be much more from the heart / Forever trusting who we are / And nothing else matters" (Metallica, Nothing Else Matters, 1991).