Steve Te Stroete

Steve Te Stroete, 67 years of age, left this world on 22 Aug 2018 and encountered the grand mystery awaiting all of us.



He was born 21 May 1951 to Delmar and Joan (Bruinooge) Te Stroete in Sheboygan, Wisconsin – a red-headed Dutch boy who was very proud of his heritage.



Steve attended Sheboygan area schools, including Sheboygan Christian Elementary School. He never abandoned his faith which was influenced by his early years’ involvement in the Christian Reformed Church.



He met his future wife, Mary Ann Huberty, in Madison late in the year 1974 when both of them were working as "patient assistants" for the developmentally disabled at the now defunct Lakeshore Manor. They married at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Fond du Lac on 01 Nov 1975. They made their residence in Madison, where they began a nine year career of working as "house parents" in various group homes: first at a home for developmentally disabled adolescents and then moving to Sheboygan & eventually to West Bend as fulltime live-in house parents in temporary shelter homes for children & adolescents.



Steve then became an employee of the State of Wisconsin for the Dept. of Corrections in 1985. He worked at a number of Correctional Institutions, ending up at OSCI until he retired in 2004. He worked at Wal-Mart and also as a caregiver for Comfort Keepers after his retirement from State employment.



Over the course of his life Steve thoroughly enjoyed playing games, whether it was an old school board game or it was illuminated on a video screen or was the result of a shuffled deck of cards. He also loved and appreciated various sports, from fishing and billiards in his younger days to playing golf and coaching little league as he grew older to simply watching various sports events on TV as his health started to fail. He especially tried not to miss any Brewers games. Steve is the sole reason why Oscar, our departed German-shorthaired pointer, entertained us for a number of years catching frisbees on the run in the fashion of a wide receiver.



Steve loved his family. His survivors are his wife; his sons Nathan (Jesee) and Noah (Crystal) and his grandchildren Maddy, Isaac, Logan, Will and Kadin. He is further survived by his sister Bette (Bernie) Lemkuil, his sister-in-law Barbara Te Stroete and his brother-in-law H. John Huberty, besides many nieces and nephews.



Steve was preceded in death by his parents Delmar & Joan and his brother Bernie Te Stroete; also his in-laws Harold & Lorraine Huberty and his sister-in-law Linda Elliott.



Steve entered rehab in 1984 in his quest for sobriety. His recovery presented many challenges for himself and his family. He was, however, never able to overcome his addiction to tobacco and consequently he suffered the debilitating effects of COPD in his later years.



When Steve was a little boy playing in the presence of his father and a neighbor, the story goes that the neighbor commented to Delmar: “That one’s gonna be trouble”. Well where trouble goes, angels surely follow because Agnesian Healthcare Hospice Hope eventually became involved in Steve’s life. His family wants to express their sincere thanks to all the wonderful people who entered our home over the last year and a half with the sole intent to keep Steve comfortable as he suffered the ill-effects of COPD, most especially Lori and also Dana, Betty, Joanne, Chaplain Bill, Kim and Dave. Please direct any memorials to Agnesian Hospice Hope.



There will be no funeral services. An intimate family gathering will be planned for the future.