Steve Fleming

COMANCHE, Texas - Steve Fleming, Comanche, Texas, died Sunday, Dec. 5, 2004, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He was born in Topeka, to Ned Nelson Fleming and Virginia Miller Fleming. He attended the Quarter Circle V Bar School in Prescott, Ariz., the Southern Arizona School for Boys in Tucson, Ariz., and he graduated from Judson High School in Scottsdale, Ariz. Mr. Fleming then attended Washburn University in Topeka, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Steve married Wilma Simpson on Aug. 29, 1959, in Topeka. They lived in Kansas and then in San Antonio. Mr. Fleming worked for 25 years with the Fleming Co., a company founded by his grandfather. The Fleming family moved to Comanche in 1981. From 1986 to 2000, he owned and operated a chain of grocery stores known as Country Boys. Steve raised horses for 50 years, many of which were American Quarter Horse Association champions and Registered of Merit winners. He was a lifetime member of the AQHA and served as its director for four years. He also served as president of the Kansas Quarter Horse Association. He was a director of the Methodist Hospital in San Antonio and president of the Judson School Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz. He served as a member of the Comanche Airport Board. Mr. Fleming was an enthusiastic horseman and aviator. In addition to his devotion to his horses, Steve was an avid traveler. His love of family and zest for life were an inspiration to all who knew him. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother and a sister. Steve is survived by his wife, Wilma, Comanche; a daughter and son-in-law, Virginia and Roy Tyus, Comanche; a son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Carol Fleming, Moultrie, Ga.; six grandchildren, Tyler James, Rachel Brooke, Logan Miller, McKenzie Elizabeth, Kylie Grace and Drew Alexander; a brother, James Fleming, and his wife, Sandra, Scottsdale, Ariz.; and many nieces and nephews. A funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Co manche Funeral Home Chapel, with the Rev. Matt Hall officiating. Burial will be on the Fleming Ranch in Comanche County, Texas, under the direction of Comanche Funeral Home. Pallbearers will be Carroll McLarty, Gerry Austin, Jim Dudley, John Dudley, John Earl Williams, James Robert Arthur, Richard Niblett, Dwight Lusk, Loy Waddell and Terry McCall. In lieu of flowers, the family had designated that memorial contributions be made to CureSearch, A National Childhood Cancer Foundation, 4600 East West Highway, Suite 600, Bethesda, Md., 20814. Contributions can be made in memory of Steve or in honor of his granddaughter, McKenzie Fleming, age 2 years and three months and a two-year cancer survivor. Or contributions may be made to Comanche Public Library, P.O. Box 777, Comanche, Texas 76442.