Rev. Steven DeGangi Obituary

Steven DeGangi, the son of Dominick A. DeGangi and Lucile M. DeGangi, was born May 1, 1955 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In early childhood years his family resided among Philadelphia, PA; Baltimore, MD; and Cleveland, OH. About 1968 the family relocated to Hollywood, FL where Steven attended high school. He graduated from McArthur High School in 1974. He also graduated from Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL with a BA, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in English with a writing concentration in August 1978. While at Florida State in his undergraduate studies, he had the great pleasure to live and study in Florence, Italy. He remained at Florida State for an additional year in graduate studies and then attended the graduate management program at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN where he graduated with an MBA in accounting in May, 1981. In January 1980 Steven married Margaret M. Sims in Sarasota, FL. He had met Margaret at Florida State University. Steven and Margaret went to Oak Ridge, TN after Steven graduated from Vanderbilt and he began working for Union Carbide Corporation at the government facilities there. Steven and Margaret had no children together. Steven worked at the government facilities and had a total of 24 years of company service. The government contractors included Union Carbide, Martin Marietta, Lockheed Martin, and finally University of Tennessee and Battelle. Steven and Margaret were divorced in February, 1998 after 18 years of marriage.

In 2005 Steven took early retirement from his company and left his home of Oak Ridge of 24 years to attend divinity school full-time at Wake Forest University, Divinity School. He graduated with a Master of Divinity degree in December, 2007. While Steven was at Wake Forest University he married Carolyn R. Brown from Knoxville, TN in March, 2006. Carolyn and Steven were divorced in August, 2006. Steven received his first pastoral call from the Horton Congregational Church in Horton, Michigan. He was ordained through a vicinage council under the guidance of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. And his ordination took place at the Horton Congregational Church on February 17, 2008. Steven resided in Horton, Michigan across the street from the church. He met Luellen K. Phelps in Michigan and they were married at the church he served as pastor on February 14, 2010. During their first year of marriage, they were able to participate in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In the autumn of 2011 Steven and Luellen moved to Peterson, Iowa where Steven became the pastor for First Congregational Church of Peterson. He enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry degree at Sioux Falls Seminary in Sioux Falls, SD in January, 2013.

Steven felt very blessed to become a minister. He had strong desires to pursue that vocation at a young age but choose to enter a secular career. The many years in Oak Ridge were great fun and he loved Margaret and enjoyed their marriage of many years. He felt regret about their divorce as he did with the short marriage to Carolyn. Steven enjoyed being able to travel to many wonderful places abroad by himself while he was in between marriages. And Steven became a recovering alcoholic; he entered recovery in the year 2001. He continued to be active in the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous from 2001 to the end of his life. Steven was pleased to meet Luellen Phelps and to have a partner in life with her as husband and wife. He really enjoyed the daily activities of being a minister and cherished the opportunity to be devoted to the Lord. Each day for Steven included precious moments with the Bible. Other authors whom he felt very close to included Father Henri Nouwen, Father Louis (Thomas) Merton, and other authors such as Francis De Sales and Louis of Grenada.

Steven held membership in the First Congregational Church of Peterson, IA. He had previously been a member of the Horton Congregational Church of Horton, MI, the Winston-Salem Friends Meeting in Winston-Salem, NC, the United Church-Chapel on the Hill of Oak Ridge, TN and the First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, TN. He was a member of the Lions Club in Peterson, IA, and he was a former member of many years of the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, TN.

He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Dominick A. and Lucile A. DeGangi. And his older brother and his wife Nelson (Shellee) DeGangi. He is survived by his older sister, Georgia DeGangi and her husband Bob Dickey, and his younger sister Lea Ann (Bob) Jordan and her two daughters Rachel and Chelsea.