Dennis “Denny” Edward Stegman passed away peacefully at home in the arms of his wife Connie Stegman, son Jared Stegman, and daughter Stephanie Stegman on Wednesday, February 7th, 2024 at the age of 69, following a 9-year battle with bladder cancer. He was able to spend his last day with his cherished granddaughter, Kamryn Stegman, as she came home from college to be with him. Denny was preceded in death by his beloved daughter, Melanie Stegman, who passed February 17th, 1999 at the age of 12. We know their reunion was a heavenly one and they are somewhere together sitting in a recliner chair, eating chocolate donuts for breakfast, and watching their favorite shows as she would only do with him.
Denny loved to jokingly introduce himself as “Dennis the Menace” when meeting new people. He had a way of drawing people into him with his welcoming, easy going nature and a never-ending supply of entertaining stories to tell. Stories that included his time pitching for the Oakland A’s and hanging out with the likes of Reggie Jackson and Vida Blue. Stories about working at the corvette plant and driving his prized bright yellow ’68 corvette - the same corvette he proposed to Connie in while driving down 270, and would later use it to teach Jared how to restore a classic car, Stephanie how to drive a manual, and most of all to take Melanie for joy rides in. Stories about the epic events him and his friends would put on as part of The Brothers Athletic Club that included hayrides, tug-o-war competitions, Easter egg hunts, super bowl parties, float trips, and golf tournaments to raise money for charity. Stories about hanging out with “the boys,” his group of friends since childhood and their adventures around North County. The same friends that still describe him as “larger than life,” and “one in a million.” Stories that went underappreciated hearing as children, but valued hearing as adults, and stories that we now wish we had the foresight to record.
Denny worked for the Glaziers Architectural Metal and Glass Workers Local Union 513 for 30 years. He served as the Business Agent and Apprentice Coordinator for many years and retired from the Glaziers as the Business Manager. He fought hard for his members to ensure higher wages, better benefits, and sustainability of the Union. He was so proud to have had the opportunity to work alongside his son Jared, also a Glazier, on several iconic St. Louis landmarks including Busch Stadium. There were few things that Denny could not make, fix, or provide for his family. He would jump at the opportunity to help anyone in need, including volunteering with Rebuilding Together St. Louis. He enjoyed helping Stephanie with her household projects and ideas - she could come to him with a rough drawing of what she was thinking and Denny would create it alongside her in an afternoon. He was well known for “Camolot,” his extravagant deer hunting stand that he built at the family farm as well as the pink camouflage deer stand “Camolittle” for his granddaughter, Kamryn. If you needed something he would cup his hands together like the logo for All State Insurance and say, “You’re in good hands with All-Steggie.”
The family farm in Licking, Missouri was by far his favorite place to spend his time throughout the years. He began coming down to the property when he met Connie and would help her father throughout the years maintain the home. Denny enjoyed spending time with his family down at the farm, as well as each hunting season and an annual shootout he would host every March for “the boys.” Denny and Connie worked hard to renovate the home and property when they purchased it from the family and Denny enjoyed spending much of his retirement at the farm with Connie. There was numerous fun filled weekends spent with the family, Kamryn and her friends, and Grant Cook - Kamryn’s half brother that Denny also considered his grandson.
It is often hard to find the words to describe such an amazing husband, father, grandfather, and friend but loyal and loving are the top two. He provided his family with a wonderful life and so many opportunities. For Jared he passed on his love of baseball, the farm, and how to build anything from nothing. Some of his favorite memories were the years spent coaching Jared’s baseball team, the Dealers. Denny supported Jared in becoming a Glazier and was so proud when Jared went on to also become a firefighter and paramedic. For Stephanie he passed along his core values of “always standing up for the little guy” and his love for capturing memories through pictures and videos. Denny was often known to be the one taking pictures and carrying a large video camera to capture events and Stephanie has worked to archive and add to their family memories. He was always willing to be a part of her class projects from video interviews in high school to even modeling in marketing pictures for her work in health care. For Melanie he passed along his passion for listening to music and fast car rides with the wind in her hair. They had such a special bond and he worked hard to make sure that she had everything she needed to care for her. For Kamryn he passed along his love of sweet tea and family traditions such as driving through Jellystone every holiday season and creating squares for every Super Bowl. He loved having the opportunity to be such a big part of her life growing up and was so incredibly proud of getting to see the person she has become. He would jump on to the shared family albums as soon as he would get a notification of new pictures from her and her friends and light up whenever she walked into the room to hear about her most recent adventures.
Denny was admittedly more of a homebody but was always willing muster up the energy to go out with his family from attending shows at the Fox, concerts of his favorite bands, the movie theatre, out to eat at restaurants, going to the Cardinal’s games, and taking vacations in Seagrove Beach, Florida. Denny and Connie built a beautiful family and life together over the 42 years of their marriage. He showed his love for her every day in the life and routine they created, and she was there to care for him every step of the way. He will be missed more than words could ever express.
Denny’s final wishes were to be cremated with a private family ceremony of spreading some ashes at Melanie’s grave, their family farm, and with final ashes to be buried together with Connie in the future. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Variety Children’s Charity of St. Louis. As a service of the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory, friends may sign the family's on-line guestbook at Schrader.com.
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