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Obituary for James Steffan
James Richard Steffan
Jim Steffan passed away peacefully on July 30, 2020 at the age of 85 at his American House Apartment in Auburn Hills MI. He was born to Martha and Richard Steffan on Feb. 14, 1935 in Detroit. He grew up with his 3 sisters; Gladys, Shirley and Dorothy. He spent many of his summers as a young boy on his Uncle’s farm in Remus Mi. At an early age he was doing many jobs on the farm including driving a wagon pulled by horses and getting hay up into the loft of the barn. He graduated from the University of Detroit High school. After high school he spent 2 years in the Army. The Army gave him a great opportunity to see the world including a stay in Germany (with some fun stories to share with the family). After the Army he graduated from Lawrence Technological University with a Mechanical Engineering Degree. After finishing college, he spent over 20 years working for GM.
Jim was married for 52 years to his lovely wife Kay. They started a family in Troy MI but soon moved to Oxford MI where they lived for many years. They had 3 exceptional children; Patrick, Sharon and Richard. Jim loved his family and instilled in them strong values that has served them well. His strong catholic faith was shown by supporting his children who attended St Joes grade school and Pontiac Catholic High School.
After retiring from GM his golf career took off. He golfed once a week in a league and would usually find time for a second round with some great retiree buddies. Retirement also allowed him to become very involved with the Knights of Columbus in Lake Orion Mi. He spent many enjoyable days with that group of men and was awarded the position of Grand Knight for a period. Along with the Knights he was a devote Catholic and made mass each week. He attended St Joes in Lake Orion or the Dominican Sisters of Peace Chapel in Oxford.
The family spent many summers traveling. Trips included stops in Florida, South Carolina, Traverse City MI just to name a few. You could always count on going somewhere each summer. He even purchased a travel trailer which gave the family some fun camping experiences. During retirement he found enjoyment in traveling to Florida each winter (for over 20 years). Getting away from the cold and darkness was a great reward for years of work. It was also a great way for the children to come to Florida during the winter for a quick getaway. A couple other memorable trips were a 3 weeks driving trip out west and a trip to Ireland. And we can’t forget about the lovely cruises out of Florida before coming back to MI for the summer.
Dad will be greatly missed. He was a cherished friend.
