Dr. Stephen Cheshier

CHESHIER, Dr. Stephen

Dr. Stephen "Steve" Robert Cheshier, 84, passed away on August 13, 2024. Steve was born on February 21, 1940, to Pauline (nee Magle) Cheshier and George Cheshier in Logan, Ohio. After his parents separated when he was very young, Steve was nurtured by his close bond with Pauline and her family; soon after, Pauline remarried, and she and Joseph "Joe" G. Mason, a veteran of the Second World War, raised him in a loving home while also encouraging his Christian formation. Steve was popular and athletic, and in high school, as a senior, he met and fell in love with Joyce Hadley. On graduation, he enlisted in the Navy, and on Joyce's high school graduation two years later, they were married in 1960 and began their 64-year love affair. During the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, for a 12-year stint, Steve undertook naval service as an aviation electronics specialist, flight crewman, and technical instructor. During those years he and Joyce raised their two sons (David Mark Cheshier, born in 1961, and John Michael Cheshier, born in 1963), both born at the Millington Naval Base near Memphis, Tennessee. While in service at Millington, Steve completed undergraduate studies at Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) in Physics and Mathematics. Subsequent deployments took the family to Norfolk, Virginia, and Patuxent River, the naval base in southern Maryland, in addition to brief aviation electronics carrier-based deployments around the world. During those years, Steve and Joyce began their affiliation with the Churches of Christ that spiritually sustained them for life.

In 1970, Steve left naval service and the family moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, where he undertook M.S. studies in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University. His academic and career trajectory was meteoric: within a decade of his arrival at Purdue, Steve had earned his masters degree and a Ph.D. in Engineering Education (at the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana), was promoted from graduate instructor to assistant professor to associate professor and then to full professor and department head of Electrical Engineering Technology.

In 1980, Steve was named the first president of Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, Georgia. For 17 years he successfully led Southern Tech as it expanded its physical footprint and added degree programs. Dr. Cheshier served on many national boards, committees, and task forces (including several for the National Science Foundation). He was National Director, Centennial Award winner and Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and Commissioner and Fellow of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Other honors included the ASEE's national McGraw Award, the first-ever Tau Alpha Pi National Distinguished Service Award, and the Dwyer Outstanding Teaching Award at Purdue.

In retirement, Steve taught university courses in astronomy and served for twenty-two years as the Executive Director of the Cobb Education Consortium (a consortium of four public colleges and universities and two P-12 school systems, representing 150,000 students), as well as SPSU President Emeritus. Retirement provided Steve the opportunity to pursue his passionate interests in worldwide travel and to cultivate hobbies that included collecting coins, stamps, and autographs. When John married Jenny Geiger, he loved her as his own daughter and adored his granddaughters Moriah and Rebekah. Above all else, Steve was a faithful Christian; for many years he served as an elder at the East Cobb Church of Christ, which he helped to found.

Steve Cheshier is survived by his wife, Joyce; and her sisters, Gayle Daniels (Truckee, CA), and Marily and the Rev. David Yaw (Lancaster OH); his sons, David (Atlanta GA), and John (Acworth GA); by his daughter-in-law, (John's spouse) Jenny; their children, Moriah and Rebekah; and by cousins, Mitch Mason, Lori Farrar, and Sara Ann Johnson.

Steve will be buried at Georgia National Cemetery, befitting the veteran status of which he was so proud, in a small service arranged for the immediate family. Friends and family are invited to a full funeral service at Roper Funeral Home in Jasper, Georgia, on Monday, August 19, 2024, at 12:00 PM. The family will receive friends from 10:00 AM, until the funeral hour.

The family gratefully requests, in lieu of flowers, that those who loved Steve consider making a donation in his name to East Cobb Church of Christ Missions. Make checks to East Cobb Church of Christ (Memo: Missions/Steve Cheshier) and mail to 5240 Roswell Road, Marietta, GA 30062.

Arrangements are entrusted to the Staff of Roper Funeral Home and Crematory.