Steven Robert Grothe

1960 - 2018

Steven Robert Grothe

Appleton - Steven Robert Grothe passed away on March 29 at the age of 57.

Steve was born on August 27, 1960 in Appleton WI and was a lifelong resident, though he spent several years in Muskego as well as Shawano. He made lifelong friends wherever he went.

In 1980, he married his high school sweetheart, Sharon. He was like a big brother to his future sister-in-laws when he and Sharon were dating and has always been a very special part of the Steinberg family. Together, he and Sharon had two children that Steve was extremely proud of and he was equally as proud of his son-in-law and daughter-in-law. Over the past five years, Steve's happiest times were those spent with his three beautiful grandchildren, who were truly the light of his life.

Active by nature, some of Steve's favorite pastimes included baseball, fishing, racquetball and weight lifting. He and Sharon enjoyed many years of playing together on co-ed softball and volleyball teams as well as snowmobiling, boating and motorcycling with their vast groups of friends.

Steve loved the outdoors. One of his favorite childhood memories were the times he spent at his grandparent's cabin. Some of his fondest memories from when his children were young were of their annual trips to Boot Lake where they spent much of their time fishing and boating. There, Steve taught both of his children to ski. His daughter will always cherish their early morning fishing trips when it was just the two of them on a glassy lake, listening to the sound of him casting and waiting for that big musky to hit his top water bait. In 1994, Steve and his brother embarked on their biggest, and well-reminisced adventure, successfully summiting Mount Rainier in Washington. Most recently, Steve enjoyed family trips to Mercer and Tomahawk where he spent time fishing and snuggling up with his grandchildren.

Steve was loyal in every aspect of his life and one area that is no exception was his work. Following his snowmobiling accident in 2010, Steve was very thankful for the opportunity to continue working at Ecolab. He always had a great group of colleagues and customers that he enjoyed working with. In fact, some of Steve's closest friends are those he made through his time spent at Ecolab.

Steve was a coach in many aspects of his life. When it came to sports, he coached many of his children's teams throughout the years and even coached his wife Sharon's fastpitch softball team. His son attributes his affinity for athletics to the time Steve spent introducing him to new sports and working with him to build his skills.

Steve was a kind, gentle soul whose smile lit up a room. We will all miss his humor and sharp wit (though the biggest fan of his jokes was himself) as well as his sarcasm (which he was always so good at getting away with). Mechanically inclined and a self-taught handyman, Steve truly enjoyed helping his family and friends any way he could.

Despite the outfalls of his accident, Steve remained largely positive and upbeat until the end and continued to bless us all with his great big, infectious smile. Steve made such a wonderful impact on so many lives and the wonderful memories made with him will be reminisced on for decades to come.

Steve will be deeply missed by his wife Sharon (Steinberg) of 37 years; daughter, Amanda Cundy and her husband, Cory; son, Benjamin Steven Grothe and his wife, Lisa; grandchildren, Cora and Caleb Cundy and Brooklyn Grothe; his mother, Satoe Grothe, and father, Robert Grothe; father-in-law, Edward Steinberg; siblings Linda (Steve) Van Fossen, John (Becky) Grothe; sister and brother-in-laws, Jim (Randi) Steinberg, Mike (Laura) Steinberg, Lynn (Steve) Wheeler, Lori (Ron) Young, Jill (Dale) Kohl; as well as numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Steve is preceded in death by grandparents, Dewey and Amy Grothe and Yoshio and Shinko Honda Kamahara as well as mother-in-law, Beverly Steinberg.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, April 7 from 9am until 12pm at Valley Funeral Home, 2211 N. Richmond Street, Appleton. Following the visitation, we invite you to join us for a Celebration of Life where we look forward to reminiscing on all our cherished memories of Steve. Should you feel inclined to do so, the family asks that you share a favorite memory of Steve by visiting his tribute page at valleyfh.com.