Steve Medvecz

Steve A. Medvecz "Gramps" of Wausau passed away Thursday January 11, 2018 at Pride TLC in Schofield. Steve was born in Wausau at the family farm in the Town of Hewitt on June 23, 1924 and resided there until his marriage to Aldine Violet (Krejci) in 1959. At that time he moved to town taking residence for a short time on Henrietta St. in an apartment until he and Violet purchased the family home at 824 East Thomas St. There he resided from 1963 until this past October when he moved to Pride Assisted Living. Steve married Violet at St Mary's Catholic Church in Wausau on August 8, 1959, and each was truly the other's better half. We take comfort at this difficult time in knowing he is with her again and that together they can rest in the care of our Lord. He endured a lot of pain these past years, his hands so twisted and knees worn out from a lifetime of hard work and memories made. But through it all he still could smile, share a laugh, and was happy to tell a tale of wisdom from his 93 years of real life experience. Steve worked on his family farm as a young man and at the age of 18 he took a job working for his lifetime friend Herb Beyer, who was also from the Town of Hewitt. Together with a crew of hard working men, they built many barns and made priceless memories in and around Central Wisconsin. He also worked as a mason before he took permanent employment at Drott where he was the Maintenance Foreman until his retirement in 1984. He took great pride in his work and cherished the friendships made working the land, building barns and stone walls, and spoke often of all the boys at Drott. Steve's passion was spending time with his grandchildren, and recently his great grandson Bowen who could instantly make Gramps smile. He never missed a baseball game from little league through high school cheering on Scott's team and he sat many hours in the 4-H barns with Carley. He loved to hunt with all the boys, Ben, Carley and Scott and looked forward to annual hunting stories with Lance, Christian and Trevor. He nurtured Stephanie's love of horses from the time she was very little, giving her pony rides on his back until he was able to get her Bucky the farm horse; and recently they just enjoyed talking horses and tractors. He was proud of the beautiful Hannah and her independent spirit. He enjoyed traveling to Alabama to visit Valerie, Emmily and Susan. He loved driving around with them in "the valley", seeing the sights, making new friends, and he really cherished their southern hospitality. Steve really enjoyed driving around the Town of Hewitt in his big Chevy station wagon and later his big blue Lincoln. He put on many miles checking on all the neighbors in the township, driving down Hill Road to check in with Ruthie or Scott, or to go to Antigo or to the Pub with Stevie, and he loved just looking at the woods and fields. His favorite job other than cutting wood was watching over his nephew Bob's cabin where he was Chief in Charge of damage control inflicted by beavers and porcupines. And he really loved all the Perkin's goodies, muffins and meals delivered with love from Karen. Survivors include 3 children, son Stephen, daughter Karen (Allan) Klay and daughter Ruth Blado. 8 grand-children Susan (Charlie) Hincy, Valerie (Lance) Arnold, Emmily (Jason) Smith, Stephanie Schroeder, Benjamin (Cara) Schroeder, and Hannah Klay, Carley (Tracy) Blado and Scott (Rebecca) Blado. 8 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. He is also survived by his dear sister Irene (Jim) Mertens and sister-in-law Agnes Medvecz, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Aldine Violet, daughter Mary Ann, parents Ethel and Stephen Medvecz, brothers Michael and Joseph, sister Ethel and an infant brother. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 am on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 at The Church of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, 621 N 2nd St, Wausau. Visitation will be held on Monday, January 15, 2018, from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm at Brainard Funeral Home - Wausau Chapel, 522 Adams Street, Wausau, and again on Tuesday, from 9:00 am until the time of services at the church. Burial will take place at Restlawn Memorial Park, Wausau. The family wishes to extend a since thank you to the wonderful caring staff at Pride TLC. Steve was only there a few months but in that time he and our family received a lifetime of hugs, compassion, and care. Steve "Gramps" was truly a legend and will be dearly missed by so many people who have had the honor to hear a story or two from this wise old man who always responded to "how are you doing" with "as compared to what?" As compared to life on earth, finally this sweet man can say "I am resting well, no more pain."