Steven Bruce WINDER

"AT THE END OF THE DAY IT IS FAMILY THAT YOU HAVE LEFT." Harley Steven Bruce Winder - of St. Louis, MO - passed away on September 12th, 2023. He was born November 27th, 1958, in Berwyn, Illinois. He was 65, or - as he would have had you convinced - much younger, because he was so active. Steve is survived by his wife of 37 years, last month - Gloria Winder (Palmira) - their three children - Steven Christopher Winder, Halina Nicole Freeman (Winder) and her husband Tyler Robert Freeman, and John Henry Winder and his wife Tess Winder. Steve is survived by his mother Elda Lou Winder and sister Kathy Fitzgerald (Winder) and her husband Dan and brother Richard Winder and uncle Marvin Habethier and Aunt Millie Good and nephews and nieces and many, many cousins. He was fortunate to have 1 grandchild, whom he loved (and spent many park days with) very much: his granddaughter Josephine Harley Freeman, named after Steve's father Harley Joseph Winder. She called her grandpa, Papa Steve. Steve frequently said, "Just do the best you can in life, do the right thing, and you will be alright". Steve never hesitated to help those around him, he loved people, animals, trucks and making those around him happy. His family always came first to him. FROM ILLINOIS TO MISSOURI Steve grew up with humble beginnings in a small town with his siblings. He enjoyed playing baseball growing up and made his parents proud. His little sister Kathy was always very close to Steve growing up and lucky enough stayed very good friends until his death. His younger brother Ricky watched Steve growing and was a great example for being a good man. Steve was always happy to spend time with his dear mom, Elda, who he loved immensely and could talk to anything about, and cherished being close to everyone all his life. In 1985, Steve went to Mexico to visit the pyramids and explore a beautiful country. He did not know this was where he would meet my mother. He was in the middle of town square asking for directions, when my mom, who spoke great English, stopped to help him find his way. Steve was smitten with her, and it truly was love at first sight. They had gone out to view the pyramids and their first date that same day, where he later asked her to marry him. They were married shortly after and have been happily married ever since. Prior to meeting Gloria, Steve attended the University of Missouri, getting his bachelor’s degree and was also on active duty in the U.S. Army for 6 years, and 10 years in the National Guard. Steve was a true patriot and respected and loved his country and land. Steve later went on to work overnights at the Bridgeton airport and was a great provider and husband. He wanted to give his family everything he possibly could, and later retired from the post office. Steve was hard working and lived each day as if it was the last, making sure he always called his family and wanted to gather and have many meals together. Steve's favorite meal was BBQ and would always be down for a road trip for a bite to eat. You cannot express Steve's passions, without mentioning the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Blues, he was a top-notch fan and loved all the facts on the players and kept up all season. Steve was also very fond of reading, he loved history, political facts and a civil war historian. His second son, Johnny, was named after a Civil war officer, John. H. Winder. KANSAS CITY LIGHTS, SHINE FOR ME TONIGHT - FROM PLANE TRIPS TO HOLIDAY THANKSGIVING, WE MISS YOU Steve's life was punctuated by five recurring themes: family, service, laughter, travel, and food. Family was first among these. He dedicated his life to his wife, kids, grandkid, mom, and siblings. He consistently chooses family vacations, weekends-at-home, and his kids' education over jobs, money, and things. On weekends, at various points in his life, he could be found watching cartoons with his children, doing laps at the pool, or stopping at Hardee's to grab a breakfast sandwich (always remembering to invite the whole family!). Frequently when his children were little, he would spend his money on plane trips to exciting new places for the whole family to see or going to Mexico, to support his wife's and children seeing their family abroad. He marked life occasions by calling all his family together, and making sure he never went long without knowing he was there. He was a man who loved the simple things in life, supporting his family and being silly because life is always too serious anyway. He would always sing catch phrases of songs, and really enjoyed the long 'Kansas City Light' by Steve Wariner and 'Song of the South' by Alabama. Steve was a provider of financial security, chauffeur to schools, games and shopping malls, baseball practice across the country for his son's league. He was always ready to go to a sporting event, brush up on American Civil War history and explain how things work. Above all, he was a proud family man, who made clear to his wife and children he would do anything for them. In addition to being the bedrock of his immediate family, he also gave to the community throughout his life. He never stopped helping others, even when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's and 4 years ago. He spent the last year of his life attending adult day care, which was where he made friends and cared for them, he was always such a caring person. He would be the person to give you the shirt off his back and trust you to no end. He was a man of his word and always followed through. He loved to serve his country and was a proud Military Veteran, alongside his entire immediate family, Elda, Joe, Kathy and Rick, and his youngest son John and his siblings’ children. Steve was a true believer and accepted God as his lord and savior very earlier in his life. Steve also had a great sense of humor. His favorite sources of laughs were The Three Stooges, Major Payne, Austin Powers, Daddy Daycare, Spanglish, and Liar Liar to name a few. His family fondly remembers him laughing to the point of tears. He would always go to the Movies as a weekly date with his wife, they enjoyed always being together. Travel was also a passion of Steve's. He loved national parks, seeing the country by car, and Florida beaches, driving his family over tons of thousands of miles of American roads. Steve and his wife also enjoyed seeing the world by airplane (oftentimes to visit new exciting things for the whole family) visiting family, vacationing and learning about history. From a young age, Steve was grateful for many things, but a big one being good food on the table. He got his first job at KFC, and oftentimes when he worked there brought food home for his whole family. Food was a super important link to gathering and connecting with his family. From then on, he made it a priority to host many Holidays and BBQ often, and make sure to 'treat out' his whole family to his favorite places. His love for this made it fun to look forward to Holidays, especially Thanksgiving because we always celebrated his birthday around it, as they were a day, days or sometimes same day as the happiest holiday, so thankful for all the warmth, light and guidance he's shown everyone his whole life. Although Steve has passed on, his family will carry on his immense love for learning, love of ice cream and civil war, fascination with America's favorite pastime, baseball, and desire to fix things serve as daily reminders of him to his wife and children. REMEMBERING STEVE Steve Winder's funeral will be held at Alternative Funeral & Cremation Services (2115 Parkway Dr., St. Peters, MO 63376) at 12 pm - 1 pm. Visitation hours will be prior, from 10am – 12pm. At 2 pm, everyone will reconvene at 2 pm for a Military Service at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery (2900 Sheridan Rd., St. Louis, MO 63125). Additionally, Steve's family invites you to carry on his memory by doing something he would have loved: eating a soft-serve ice cream cone, drinking a ice cold Coke-a-Cola, taking a train or road trip, watching a funny movie, fixing something around the house, watching an episode of MASH or going for a joyride, seeing a national park, taking a long walk, or any other activity that reminds you of the good times you shared with Steve. We also invite you to share your memories of Steve below in the Guestbook. His family would love to hear your recollections in order to carry on his memory to later generations.

Steven Bruce WINDER

November 27, 1957 - September 12, 2023