Steven Baron Obituary

It was a blessing to know you, Steve, even at a distance. Your life of love and support for your family was well lived. The time we have left here is undetermined but I hope that we can all be as faithful to our Lord and families as you were.

In My Pocket

I have memories in my pocket.
They rattle among the change.

My memories of you are treasures I carry wherever I go.

They are stored in bits and pieces, parts of a beautiful whole
They give me comfort when I think I am alone.

Yes, I have memories in my pocket, like so much other stuff I keep there.

But of all the treasures I have, it’s the memories of you that are the most precious.

You were the best dad anyone could ever ask for. You were loving, caring and not selfish at all. You put the needs of others before you. I'll never forget the memories we shared together. I miss you so much, I miss every moment with you. I love you more than anything. I'm sorry you had this sickness. I wish it could've been me instead. I can't wait to see you again in heaven! I love you Daddy!

Steve,

I wish that I would have known you better than I did.

Know that the impacts that you have made in people's lives will never be forgotten.

Celebrating a life well lived. We will cherish the memories forever.

Steve was a loving father to Kristen and Stephanie and supportive husband to Rebecca. I was happy to call him brother-in-law (and we were both born 12/1954, which makes me think of my mortality and how important it is to know Jesus as Lord and Savior and have Him to trust in during our trials/tribulations on this earth). Hoping that Jesus' return is soon, so all our family and friends that know the Lord can be together once again. Also, the importance of asking Jesus into our life so that we will be written in the Lamb's Book of Life when it's our turn to leave here.

Barb

Steve,
You know I love you and will miss you and I'm so sorry you had this illness. Till we meet again.....
MOM

RE Kristina's entry, A little good news, Steve didn't have any pain.

I didnt know you too well, but I wish i got a chance to. I do know though that you were a great brother, a great son, a great uncle, a great husband, and most importantly, a great dad. You did great things and I'm glad i knew you, we all miss you.

Love you,
Steph.... A.

Uncle Steve,
While I miss you more than I can express, I know you are finally free from all pain and dancing with the angels.

Aunt Rebecca,
We are praying for you and the girls; we love you. Also, I could never thank you enough for your faithful care of your husband. May God bless you for your unconditional love.

Steve, all of us miss you.

It's difficult to understand why a good, loving person dies so young, when we think that they should have decades yet to go before their time here on earth is over.

We'll get together again, some day. You, Gregg, Dad and the rest of us. Until then.....

Love,

Rick

Playing my guitar...and thinking of you. Love you and looking forward to seeing you again sometime.

This was the eulogy I delivered on Friday May 23:

I wanted to share some of the life of Steve Baron. From my perspective. I'm Jeff Baron. I'm his brother. I've known him for 49 years. His parents - from Bradley Illinois - were Lorraine and Lawrence Baron.

Steve was the 2nd child out of 8. I was 4th. There were 7 boys out of those 8 - and one lone girl - Nancy - who managed to survive the sibling rivalry and sibling abuse. She's here today, in fact.

So is Michael, he's kid number one.
So is Rick - he's kid number 3.
Mark - number 6
Bill - he's number 8 - the very last son before my parents retired from the child making business.

Since Steve was 4 years older than me, we didn't really hang out together when we were young. Had a whole different set of friends. In fact, his friends kind of scared me.

I remember Steve was in Cub Scouts a precursor to Boy Scouts. I wasn't. I think I was kind of jealous over that.

When I was starting high school, he was already out of high school. When I was getting married back in Illinois, he was 6 states away.

We didn't really keep in touch, This was before email and cell phones and instant message and Fedex. It was the US mail or nothing. And brothers didn't write letters much. Real men don't eat quiche and they don't write letters.

So I married my sweetheart, Karen, and moved to Colorado. Then one day, lo and behold, Steve shows up in Colorado. This was in winter of 1983. We had one child at that point, Kristina. Steve even babysat for Kristina and marveled over the fact that she might take 3 hours to eat a meal.

Steve was living at a motel down on Nevada. Not the best part of town. He found a job, He wasn't driving back then, so we would stop by and see him and occaisionally bring him up to our house for some real living, some real cooking. Not sure what he was eating back at that motel. Pizza and chips were his staples I think. Doritos. Frozen pizzas.

Time passed. We had Joshua and Janelle now. Steve used to always wear a baseball style cap. Joshua especially loved to tease him by taking it off his head. He was mildly annoyed. But put up with it.

One day he told us about Rebecca. They started dating. He didn't tell us much detail at all about themselves or their relationship. July 5,1991 was their wedding date. They were married in Colorado Springs and soon after they had a town house. We'd get together a few times a year, typically around the holidays and when Grammy B would come visit.

We'd meet with Dave and Roberta, Rebecca's parents. David and Anabelle and their young family were often there too. David is Rebecca's brother. They were fun to hang out with and always brought a smile to our faces.

It wasn't too long till Steve and Rebecca's first child was born - Kristen. A beautiful baby girl. Then Stephanie. Another beautiful baby girl. Steve I don't know why you stopped - you were 2 for 2 in the "making beautiful daughters" department.

I wondered what kind of father he would make because growing up - he didn't seem like the fatherly type. But then - who did at age 17? Well he turned out to be a great father. He really loved his girls. He was so proud of them. And their accomplishments as they got older.

So we would still get together but now we had cousins involved. The children would often play card or board games. Julie was usually the instigator for that. By now we had Julie, Kurt and Katie. A half dozen.

I think when we came to visit their house, we would freak Rebecca out. When you have a family of four and a family of 8 drops in to visit - yeah the house suddenly gets small and the noise level increases exponentially. But it was always fun.

Steve was really into music. Growing up he used to play guitar. I always wished I could. He even had a Fender Statocaster which is the holy grail of guitars. Janelle was always eying it. Steve had a monster CD collection. He liked Contemporary Christian music, he liked jazz and some blues. But I never saw someone with so many cassettes and CD's. Then when he bought a CD to replace a cassette - he gave me his cassettes. Then I would eventually get CDs and pass the cassettes on to my children. A family tradition I guess.

For Christmas, Steve would always get our family those chocolate covered cherries. I was extremely fond of them, Karen was not, which was fine by me. But I could count on getting them every year. I'm guessing they were Steve's favorites too.

The news of Steve having a brain tumor was a shock for us. Out of nowhere it came. Like most bad news. Time passes quickly and you exhaust all options.

In these past few months, Joshua and I would go down to their house and help get Steve in and out of the car, to the wheel chair. Joshua was always willing to take hours from his day to help out. Karen also helped out. Before Josh and I got involved, Rebecca and Dave, her father, were helping carry him.

I want to specifically thank Dave. His wife Roberta passed away a few years ago. Dave has been the patriarch of this family. The grandpa. He's been such a strong influence on all of them especially Kristin and Stephanie and I want to thank you Dave for the role you played in Steve's life and will continue to play in the future. You are needed more than ever now.

I wanted to thank Karen who has been so helpful during this period. Full of grace and wisdom and only one thought in her head - "how can I minister to Steve and his family in this time of need?" "How can I encourage and support Rebecca?" Well she found many ways to do that.

And last Rebecca. You stuck by Steve till his final day, you took your wedding vows seriously and literally and your love and compassion for him was incredible. Karen told me many times, if it were me - she could have not done all that you did. You always had hope and fought for him every step of the way. You can hold your head high knowing you gave it your all. You and Steve were perfect for each other. Not perfect mind you - no two people are nor is any marriage. Every marriage is a struggle, a battle. But you two made it. You have a lot to show for it. A lot of priceless memories and a legacy that will live on.

We are not here just to mourn the loss of Steve Baron on this earth. He will be missed. If you are a Believer in life ever after, then he is in a much better place now. His soul is. His body remains here.

To close, we are here to remember Steve. To celebrate his life. His legacy will carry on in his two daughters, Kristen and Stephanie. Girls, know that we are all here for you. The people gathered here today are here because they love your family and love you. Keep us in your life. Live to make Steve, or DAD to you, proud.

People at work call me Jeff. Karen calls me Jeff. Unless she is mad at me - then I'm Jeffrey. But my children call me - DAD. There is something priceless in that word - DAD. (pause) Steve was a good DAD. He loved Rebecca with all his heart. And girls - he loved you two with all his heart. As you go through life - make your DAD, Steve, forever proud! He was a good man. We'll miss him but we won't forget him.

Warm Summer Sun

Warm summer sun,
Shine kindly here,
Warm southern wind,
Blow softly here.
Green sod above,
Lie light, lie light.
Good night, dear heart,
Good night, good night.

By Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
The Poetry Foundation

Be Still

Be still like the grass on a melancholy summer day
Be still like desert shrub.

Be calm and you will hear your loved one speak, in the stillness, in the calm, their love resounds.

If you are still this promise I make, you will hear the voice of your loved one helping you along your way.

To my dearest family, some things I'd like to say...
but first of all, to let you know, that I arrived okay.
I'm writing this from heaven. Here I dwell with God above.
Here, there's no more tears of sadness; here is just eternal love.

Please do not be unhappy just because I'm out of sight.
Remember that I'm with you every morning, noon and night.
That day I had to leave you when my life on earth was through,
God picked me up and hugged me and He said, "I welcome you."

It's good to have you back again; you were missed while you were gone.
As for your dearest family, they'll be here later on.
I need you here badly; you're part of my plan.
There's so much that we have to do, to help our mortal man."

God gave me a list of things, that he wished for me to do.
And foremost on the list, was to watch and care for you.
And when you lie in bed at night, the day's chores put to flight.
God and I are closest to you....in the middle of the night.

When you think of my life on earth, and all those loving years
because you are only human, they are bound to bring you tears.
But do not be afraid to cry; it does relieve the pain.
Remember there would be no flowers, unless there was some rain.

I wish that I could tell you all that God has planned.
But if I were to tell you, you wouldn't understand.
But one thing is for certain, though my life on earth is o'er.
I'm closer to you now, than I ever was before.

There are many rocky roads ahead of you and many hills to climb;
but together we can do it by taking one day at a time.
It was always my philosophy and I'd like it for you too...
that as you give unto the world, the world will give to you.

If you can help somebody who's in sorrow and pain,
then you can say to God at night......"My day was not in vain."
And now I am contented....that my life has been worthwhile,
knowing as I passed along the way, I made somebody smile.

So if you meet somebody who is sad and feeling low,
just lend a hand to pick him up, as on your way you go.
When you're walking down the street, and you've got me on your mind;
I'm walking in your footsteps only half a step behind.

And when it's time for you to go.... from that body to be free,
remember you're not going.....you're coming here to me.

Ruth Ann Mahaffey (author)
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