Paul Steven Nourse

Paul Steven Nourse, Jr., 76, of Mechanicsville, Maryland passed away February 23, 2025 in Herndon, Virginia. While cancer ultimately took him away, Steven was blessed with a long and full life.

Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Steven was born to very young parents of modest means. His first home was a converted chicken coop provided by his maternal grandfather. Steven was a hard worker and started working in his early teens. After high school, he worked for over seven years to pay his own way through the University of Tulsa. While in college he worked nights, weekends, and summers to afford tuition. His jobs included janitor, pizza maker, postal carrier,
and country-club bartender, among others. He was rightfully proud of his many years of work to become a college graduate and years after, to get his MBA, at Texas A & M at Corpus Christi.

While in Texas, he met the love of his life, Millie Francis Knapp. They both worked at IBM, and after dating a few years decided to marry. These were happy years- they went frequently to Padre Island, bought fresh shrimp right off the dock, and enjoyed going to Mexican restaurants. They loved the spring wildflowers across south Texas.

In 1979, they chose to create a family together and moved back to Millie’s childhood home in Severn, Maryland. God gave Steven three daughters, Liz, Sarah, and Charlotte. They moved again, and again, and again, finally ending up in Mechanicsville, Maryland in 1987.

Through the years, in their little home down a red dirt road in St. Mary’s County on 21 acres, Millie and Steven raised their family. Steven enjoyed nature and gardening. Surrounded by wildlife, he took pride in teaching his daughters about the natural world- animals, plants, and weather, imparting on each a love of the
outdoors. He was known to pick up litter frequently when walking in the woods and even pulling his truck over to retrieve litter left by the highway. Steven showed his children by example that they could choose to be a force for good in the world.

Steven worked several jobs over the years, all in finance and computer programming. The latter half of his career was in the federal government, where he worked maintaining a complex computer system responsible for distributing retirement checks to retired federal employees, before becoming one himself.

Steven loved the simple pleasures of a cold soda or black walnut fudge. The sound of a steel guitar. The feel of the wind, which he missed from his Oklahoma days. Steven always spoke very highly of his wife Millie and how smart she was. He was so proud of her.

Steven is survived by his wife Millie Nourse, daughters Elizabeth Nourse (Joseph Miller), Sarah Zsak (Neil Zsak), and Katherine Charlotte Nourse (Ken Dolch), grandchildren Jonah, Samantha, Abigail, Violeta “Leta”, Wyatt, Lucy, and Colton, as well as brother Calvin (Denise), two nephews, one niece.

We will forever carry Steven in our hearts. We cherish the memories we shared as well as what he taught us, both in words and by example.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Steven’s memory to:

Hollywood United Methodist Church (Maryland)

https://onrealm.org/hollywoodumc/-/form/give/now

Ducks Unlimited

https://donate.ducks.org/donateOnlineSecure.aspx?promoKey=MemorialHonorGiving&_gl=1*1ym8j5h*_gcl_au*MTUyNDk3ODk1OC4xNzQxNzIxMzI2*_ga*ODY2OTE2OTcyLjE3NDE3MjEzMjc.*_ga_2X0ECQZQ09*MTc0MTcyMTMyNy4xLjEuMTc0MTcyMTYyOS4zOS4wLjA.&_ga=2.116794758.180674025.1741721327-866916972.1741721327

The Salvation Army

https://give.salvationarmyusa.org/give/164006/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=USN_Homepage&c_src2=evergreenHero