Steven Lynn Weigel, 77, of Monroe, WA passed away in the presence of his family on February 21, 2025 after a valiant fight against leukemia. Steve was born on September 23, 1947 in Albany, OR to Wayne and Dorothy Weigel. He was the middle child to three brothers with whom he maintained close relationships.
At age 8, Steve moved to a farm in Corvallis, OR with his family and graduated from Corvallis High School in 1965. After graduating, Steve drove to Alaska and spent the summer working as a cook's helper on an oil platform in Cook Inlet and then in Prudhoe Bay. He then attended and graduated from Oregon Technical Institute with a degree in machine technology. He moved to Richland, WA in 1968 and began working for Battelle at Hanford.
He met and fell in love with Susan Beckman and they married in 1970. Steve and Susan were married for nearly 52 years and were role models to their children and grandchildren with their devotion and love to one another. Together they welcomed two children-Tanya in 1972 and Tory in 1975.
Steve and Sue moved to the farm in Corvallis, OR where Steve, his father, Wayne, and best friend since 3rd grade, Bill, built custom houses. Steve even built his family a house complete with an in-ground pool.
Steve returned to work as a Project Manager for Johnson Controls moving his family to Syracuse, NY in 1982 and then Jacksonville, FL in 1985 before returning to Washington in 1988. He worked for Johnson Yokogowa until retiring in 1998 so he could focus on North Bend Montessori.
In 1996, Steve and Susan relocated to North Bend, WA and founded North Bend Montessori. Steve remodeled and maintained the school buildings and the beautiful campus in North Bend where his legacy will live on.
Steve and Susan split their time between Washington and Arizona for many years and then relocated back to Richland in 2011. Steve and Sue loved to travel and they went on more than 30 cruises and met lifelong friends along the way. Steve enjoyed hunting, hiked the Pacific Crest Trail with a friend, and had a passion for cars. He had a 1969 Chevy Nova SS that he raced in Richland and won several awards when he and Sue were dating. His first Corvette was a 1961 C1 and had 5 others in later years including a factory delivery of a 2023 Stingray with his son and daughter along for the ride.
After Susan passed away in 2022, Steve moved to Monroe to be closer to his children and grandchildren. He joined the Corvette Marque Club of Seattle where he made many good friends and participated in most of the club’s events and became a member of the board and planned club activities.
Steve became “Poppy” in 1997 when Mikayla was born, followed by Alexia, Gavin and Aleigh. Steve’s children and grandchildren were his greatest joy and priority. Steve and Sue loved to support their grandchildren at all their activities and spent many hours watching soccer games, ballet classes and recitals, gymnastic meets, horse shows, dog shows and cheer competitions. They took Tanya, Tory and their families on many special vacations including a Disney Cruise, Caribbean cruise, many Disneyland trips, and Maui. The four grandchildren had a great time playing by the river at their house in North Bend and swimming in their pools in Arizona and Richland.
Steve was preceded in death by his wife, Susan and his parents, Wayne and Dorothy Weigel. He is survived by his brothers Terry Weigel (Louise) and Ron Weigel (Randa) of Milwaukee, OR, his daughter Tanya (Eric) of Monroe, WA, his son Tory (Dawn) Weigel of Maple Valley WA and his four grandchildren: Mikayla Rolfs, Alexia Rolfs, Gavin Weigel, and Aleigh Weigel.
Steve’s memorial will be held at Purdy & Kerr with Dawson Funeral Home in Monroe, WA on Saturday, March 15th, 2025 at 2:00 PM. All are welcome to attend.
