Stephen "Steve" Larrick

Stephen "Steve" E Larrick, 82, of Columbus, Ohio, completed his journey into heaven on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. He was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, on April 24, 1942, to the late Glenn and Eileen Larrick. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by sisters Kay Ball and Jeanne Winegardner, and his beloved four-legged best friend and loyal companion of 14 years, Waffles.

Steve is survived by his loving wife of 41 years, Sandy, son Scott Larrick, daughter Nancy (Tom) Osborne, grandchildren Siena, Blaze, and Davis, brother David Larrick, sister-in-law and brother-in-law Connie and Rod Ressler, nieces, nephews, and many friends.

After working at Kinnear Doors as a draftsman, Steve trained in the then-relatively new field of data processing and accepted a job at Highlights for Children as a mainframe computer programmer. He held several positions within the IT department before retiring after 39 years of dedicated service. It was a fulfilling career; it is also where he met his wife, Sandy.

Steve was as active and adventuresome as his health would allow. As a kid, he would water ski on Lake Erie when his dad took the boats out to fish. He's gone gliding (unpowered airplanes) in Arizona, parasailing in Michigan, camelback riding in Australia, and took a hot air balloon ride in Ohio after a failed attempt in Arizona.

His hobbies included woodcarving, gardening, taking care of the house and yard, being in nature, and animals. He was a member of the Columbus Chippers Woodcarving Club, where he helped teach Cub Scouts basic knife and cutting skills using a wooden knife and Ivory soap. He volunteered at the Park of Roses deadheading the plants. He enjoyed working at the voter election polls for many years, serving in several positions including location manager.

He volunteered at the Hilliard Farmers Market and has delivered Meals on Wheels. Steve enjoyed attending fairs, festivals, and live sporting events. He also enjoyed going through factory tours such as Kitchenaid, John Deer, and American Whistle Company right here in Columbus. He loved being the prep cook at home. During quiet times and when having to wait, he enjoyed doing word search puzzles.

His spirit was filled with generosity and genuine happiness. Being of a pure heart, it seemed every animal and baby were attracted to him. He connected with them easily.

Steve was active in the Hilliard United Methodist Church.

In lieu of flowers or other donations, share a smile, good deed, or random act of kindness in honor of Steve's memory.