I first meet Steve when I was working at Walgreens Homecare. We use his courier services for deliveries. He introduced me to my first Bluetooth Plantronics. Hands free answering a phone it was awesome. When Walgreens decided to eliminate my job. I was worried about what I was going to do for work now. Steve being Steve called me that night to tell I had a job with his company when I was ready. That started a whole new chapter in my life. He opened so many doors for me and instilled the confidence in me for me to succeed.
I remember walking into his office on a Saturday when we were closed, he was doing payroll with his Bose turned to I guess about a 100. You and to yell to be heard, he said he could work better this way. :). The other thing I remember was his temper especially when he and Michael Angelo would go at it. When they were done screaming and throwing things at each other, they always remained the best of friends and business partners. I will miss him.
~ John Christensen,
Menomonee Falls, WI
I feel as if I only knew Steve for a few years but it was almost 10. I wanted to share one of my many best memories that I shared with him and Bryan and John. But before I start I wanted to say Steve made the best Apple Pie Moonshine. One of the first encounters I had with Steve is him dropping off the moonshine for Bryan and my jaw dropped and said your going to share right! So we all sat in the cubicles that were in the back of the office and drank it. Made working at SMS easier and “ Steve made the best apple pie moonshine” After that we all started meeting at the Ale House for lunch. We would all park in the back and hide our cars. I must say those vodka lemonades were quite refreshing. Liquid lunches with them was the all time highlight of work. Needless to say we all returned to work pretty buzzed up but it was worth every moment. On a different note Steve was the most generous man. He had a heart of gold. My last memory of us all having lunch was when we all went for Mexican. After that we all ended up in different directions but we all remained close.
~ Heather Schauer,
Winter Haven , FL
It’s so sad to hear of Steves passing,
I will always look back and laugh about many good memories. I recall when I started working for Steve (about 2010) figuring out his personality and sense of humor. One of the first funny memories is when Steve continually parked his Corvette perfectly in the middle of the loading dock doors; Tony Angelo said "Stop doing it, there is plenty of parking on the side of the building!" Steves response was “That’s good enough for everyone else but not for me.” While he was saying it, I remember the shit eating grin on his face. He knew full well the reaction that comment would get. After a couple of expletives exchanged between Mike, Tony and Steve, he proudly walked away to his office - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. I had only known Steve a short time at this point but I went in his office to let him know how hilarious that was and we both laughed for quite a while. That was the beginning of a great work friendship between the two of us.
Even though Steve was an instigator and a trouble maker, he was also a good sport. We got along just fine taking jabs at one another, mutual torment, extended lunch breaks and many long conversations between friends.
After hearing of Steves passing I reached out to notify a few former coworkers and of course we started comparing stories and reminiscing, all of us had our own many good stories about him.
I moved away from the Milwaukee area a few years ago, but kept in touch with Steve regularly. Hopefully he’s in a better place now, surrounded with a never ending supply of frozen Twinkies, cheese popcorn, expensive bourbon, BBQ grills, firearms and Corvettes.
Steve left many good memories for me and many others, you will sincerely be missed.
-Bryan Gallegos
~ Bryan Gallegos,
Peoria, AZ
Our thoughts and prayers are with you on your tragic loss. Steve will be missed but NEVER forgotten.
~ Wayne&Helen Oberlander ,
Franklin , WI
Lisa, so very sorry to hear about the loss of your husband. Condolences and sympathy to your family. Wish I would have met him. Sounds like you will have great memories of Steve to hold dear.
~ Tim & Alicia DeJarlais ,
Bozeman, MT
