Richard Stephen Markin

On November 16, 2025 in Medford, Oregon, our world sadly lost a son, father, brother, and uncle, artist, traveler, chef, and storyteller Richard Stephen "Steve" Markin after 65 years.

Steve was born in Toledo, Ohio near the shores of the Great Lake he loved and frequently returned to throughout his life. He yearned to travel even as a young man, driven by his innate curiosity and always ready to take the next road, and this led to U.S. Naval service in the Mediterranean and countless opportunities throughout our country, chances to see and experience things most of us only imagine. It also allowed him to be close to the natural world that brought him peace. Camping, fishing, exploring, Steve loved the outdoors and never shied from the opportunity to spend a night outside in the woods or the desert or the beach. This connection extended to the animals around him. Steve appreciated and respected all living creatures, from the massive brown bear to the tiny scorpion, from the wild stallion to the trudging possum, from the reptiles of the swamps to the stags of the forest. Above all, he never met a dog he didn't love, and every dog he met, whether his own pets to the mangy stray, returned this affection.

His adventures around the country provided endless fodder for tales he would share with family and friends. Like most fishermen, Steve was a consummate storyteller, weaving tales that entertained and surprised anyone who would take the time to sit and share one of his expertly cooked meals.

But delicious food and wild stories were not Steve's only creations or the extent of his talents. He could build and repair anything... literally anything. If a house needed a new roof, an engine needed a new part, or a watch needed a new gear, Steve could repair it. Yet his calloused hands and overt bravado did nothing to hide his innate sensitivity and artist eye. Steve could find beauty in everything around him, even in places others might discard or ignore. He could see and carve out the butterfly trapped in an old block of wood. He could hear the ancient natural song of water lapping under a trash-strewn bridge. He could feel the value in every person he met, even those that the world might have abandoned, and never hesitated to put out a hand or cook a warm meal or share what he could with a fellow traveler.

Steve, glasses peering out from under an ever-present ball cap, crooked grin on his face, would read these words and laugh, shrug them off, say they must be for someone else, and chide anyone who cries for him. In this humility, though, he could never understand how much he meant to the lives of the family and friends who knew him. Because he is gone, somewhere, tonight, a stray dog loses a crust of bread and a pat, a sunset goes unappreciated, and a story of an unbelievable adventure goes untold. Most of all, those who love him find the day a little less funny, find a lost nugget of advice based in deep life experience, find an empty space in a too-quiet night, find a tear rolling down a cheek with no one there to tease a smile and reject this grief.

Steve, adventurer, outdoorsman, craftsman, woodcarver, troubadour, father, brother, uncle, and friend...you are missed and loved more than you ever knew or accepted in life. Find the rest and peace you were always seeking, and keep the coffee warm so we can all sit around the table and swap tall tales when we meet again.

Steve is preceded in death by father and mother, Larry and Joyce McGhee Markin, older brother, Larry “Slim” Markin, Jr. and beloved grandmother Hazel Harness McGhee. He is survived by child Danny (Emily) Markin, brother David (Shalene) Markin, sisters Kimberly Wieling, Cheryl Pinney, Linda Hunt, Wendy Sipes, and Elizabeth (Matthew) Hysell, along with over forty nephews and nieces, and friend and traveling companion, Jacki Manders.

Memorial Service will take place at a later date.