Steve R. Truly

God Bless Steve Truly, Steve was more than a co- worker he was more like a big brother mentor. We had some great times , work the the US Department of State, Steve will be missed. Marlene 6/30/2024

In Memory of Steve R Truly

I first met Steve in 1971 when I was hired as a trainee Computer Equipment Operator for the U.S. Department of State. He was one of their senior operators. I credit him with setting me on the career path that was very successful. Without Steve´s mentorship, I would not have had the knowledge, perseverance, and courage to pursue the career in computers that I enjoyed.
The first thing I noticed about Steve was his cheerfulness and that he was very opinionated. He displayed an aura of confidence, that for me, was impressive. I have never seen or been around anyone that was so self-assured around people. He displayed a type of authority and leadership that I believed made him the titular head of the operators. I learned a lot about computer operations from Steve, and even a lot more about life in the workforce. His technical instructions and advice were always on point. Steve provided me with the basic computing fundamentals that allowed me to exceed my own career expectations.
For most of the seven years I was at the State Department, I worked the nightshift with Steve and other shift co-workers. Steve had a way of sizing up people and giving them nicknames - names like Country, Hayseeds, Blue and Baby Dumplings. No one got offended, and we all laughed together, including the person he was nicknaming. He had a way of keeping the atmosphere light and congenial. It was fun to be on the same nightshift with him. He kept us all awake during the nightshift. If anyone was caught sleeping, you could be sure that Steve was going to prank them in some way to wake them up. Sometimes, when the nightshift completed work early, we would debate hypothetical scenarios to pass the time. Steve would always take the opposing antagonistic stance for the sake of argument. He would never give or change his opinion no matter what point someone would make. It was all in fun. He would never concede, at best, we agree to disagree.
In 1978, I left the State Department to pursue my career and Steve continued his at State. We traveled in different concentric circles but we never lost touch. For a number of years, we were both busy pursuing our careers but he would reach out, once in a while, via telephone. We informed each other on how we were doing and then continued in our respective circles.
Steve was a great generous friend and like a big brother to me and my family. One day, in the 1980s, we were having a conversation about the movie "Star Wars". We hadn´t seen it yet and I haven´t gotten around to renting the movie. Steve said, "I got a copy of the movie, I´ll bring it over and we can watch it." I responded, "Great! I´ll setup my VHS/VCR where we can all sit and watch it." Steve replied, "VHS format? My movie is in BETA format". "Oh well, thanks for the offer, we will see it sometime in the future.", was my response. Steve then said, "No problem, I will just bring my machine to your house and we can still watch it." Those VCRs were not made to be portable machines. Bringing that heavy equipment was the mark of a good and generous friend. He even brought us an adult beverage.
Some years later, he called to tell me he was married. I replied, "Wow, I thought you were the perpetual bachelor?" He replied, "No, I have found the love of my life.". I told my wife, Pat, and she was as shocked as I was. We both congratulated him and told him better late than never. Over the years, he and I continued to stay in contact with each other.
In more recent years, as age reduce our activities, we found more time to talk to each other. We became like two lost brothers having conversations more and more. At first, we talked once a month. Then as we begin to have more sedentary time on our hands, we would talk 2, 3 or 4 times a month. Our conversations would be about our careers in those missing years we were only connecting annually. We had a lot of catching up to do. Sometimes we talked about family, home improvement projects/devices and our future plans. We touched on politics, but when we discovered that we had different opinions, the conversation was over. I told him that I learned a lot from him about debating, so we mutually agreed not to discuss politics anymore. When we talked about families, Steve would often say that he is so glad to be married to Angi. He would say, "I don´t know what I would do without her."
I looked forward to talking to Steve on a regular basis. The last conversation we had, Steve ended our call different than his usual "Talk to you later Bro, bye´. He said to me, "Jarred, I want to thank you for being a good friend and being there for me when I called you." I was, momentarily, stunned but replied, "You are welcome, I feel the same about you. It´s a pleasure talking to you and I always learn a lot. I will always be available to talk to you." Steve replied, "Goodbye" and hung up. I, immediately went to my wife and told her of the conversation. She agreed with me that it sounded final. Unfortunately, it was.
In closing, Steve Truly was one of the most positive and influential persons both as a professional mentor and friend, I have ever known. I will miss his cheerful nature, generosity and willingness to share with others lessons he has learned. I already miss having conversation with him. I am sure he is now in Heaven having respectful debates with the angels.

R.I.P. Bro
Jarred Coram a.k.a. "Baby Dumplings"

Offering our deepest condolences during this difficult time.