Stephen John Lyding

Stephen John Lyding, 71 of Phoenix, passed away on July 27, 2024. He was an Arizona native, born April 25,1953 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix to Alfred Samuel Lyding, Jr. and Mary Louise Rohrbacher. He was the seventh of their nine children. In 1976 Steve married Debbie Barben, they have two children, Sara and Greg. 

Steve was a proud graduate of Brophy Prep, class of 1971 and the University of Arizona, class of 1975. He loved to follow U of A basketball and football games. Steve enjoyed running in marathons, half marathons and 10k’s and was a member of Mummy Mountain Running Group. His proudest running achievement was running in and finishing the Boston Marathon. He enjoyed golf and camping in the mountains. 

Steve had a long and successful career as a Certified Public Accountant, and as an Accounting Controller in a publicly traded company. He retired in 2014 after receiving a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia. He bravely and stubbornly fought the disease for many years. 

Steve is preceded in death by his parents, his brother Al and his sister, Barbara. He is survived by his wife Debbie; his son Greg(Courtney) Atlanta, Georgia; daughter Sara Modglin(Justin) Gilbert, Arizona; and six grandchildren. He is also survived by his brothers, Mike(Kathy) Phoenix; Ken(Vicki) Columbus, Ohio; Chris(Linnea) Phoenix and by his sisters Kathy DeRouen(Perry) Morongo Valley, Ca; Judy Lyding(Carl Hanson) Sandpoint, Idaho; and Janie Brotherton(Steve) Tempe; sister-in-law, Mary Lou Lyding, Phoenix; and brother- in-2law, John McLoone, Paradise Valley.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 1st, 2024 from 5PM to 7PM with a Rosary Service at 6PM at Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, 4800 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 1:30PM on Friday, August 2nd, 2024 at St Pauls’ Catholic Church, 330 W. Coral Gables Dr, Phoenix. 

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.