John Christian
Steffes
Family and friends will gather at Old Saint Mary Parish, 844 N. Broadway on Friday, August 4, 2023 from 1:00 PM until the time of the Memorial Mass at 2:30 PM
In lieu of flowers, memorials to Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation in John’s memory are greatly appreciated. Link to donate online: Donate – MPS Foundation (mpsfdn.com)
John Christian Steffes
Born to Eternal Life July 31, 2023, age 54 years. Beloved husband and best friend of Holly. Cherished father of Lucy, Audrey and Henry. Loving son of Joan and the late Aloysius Steffes. Dear brother of Mary (Gregor) Yank, Judith Steffes, Barbara (David) LeCuyer, Nancy (Jay) Gueldner, Thomas (Tanya) Steffes and Carol (Kevin) Heffernan. Fond uncle of Elena, Irene and Ava Yank, Amanda Kujawa, Hunter LeCuyer, Robert, Timothy and Caroline Gueldner, Eavie and Roman Heffernan, Jennifer (Marc Villanueva) Didier, Bill Wambach, Amy (Russ) Barlow, Jack Hetzel and Steele, Colton, Adison and Autumn Tevz. Dear brother-in-law of Debra (Gene Hanson) Hanson, John Hetzel, Jane (Jonathan) Tevz and Ann Hetzel. Fond son-in-law of Janyce Hetzel, who was a great help to the family, especially to John over the last 18 months. Further survived by other relatives and many good and dear friends.
I got to know John in our 6 years together at Johnson Controls. He was a great co- worker and a wonderful person. He will be deeply missed.
Dear Holly, Lucy, Audrey, and Henry,
I worked with John at Lloyd Barbee. Your dad was such a kind, funny, and generous person. He loved teaching. He was passionate about his work with the children. School was always more fun with John. He will be missed by his Barbee family for a very long time. Holding you all in my heart Take good care.
Gonna miss you John. You made timing and judging a lot of fun when you were there. Our prayers are with you Holly and family.
While this is one of the hardest things to do as a big sister, it is also one of the easiest. I always loved bragging about my brother in the band, my brother who taught in MPS (as does Holly), my brother who seemed to have 26 hours in a day with all of his activities, my brother whose kids were his greatest pride, and who talked constantly about their accomplishments, my brother who umpired baseball games in no-nonsense fashion, my brother whose stories of his trips with Holly were always entertaining, my brother whose faith drove everything he did and stood for. And finally I get to brag about how he handled a terminal cancer diagnosis with strength, humor, grace, and courage. He has left this world a better place, and me a better person for being my younger brother. His spirit, charisma, commitment to helping others, and his devotion to his family are his legacy. This will live on through Lucy, Audrey and Henry, through Holly and me and the rest of his family, all the students he touched, all the people who saw him perform and everyone he met. Thanks John, you’re the best. Love, Mary.
To the Steffes family.
I got to know John through his interest in the sport of Boxing. John took to it like a fish to water. He was at every workout at JCI he could attend and His enthusiasm effort were infectious. He helped everyone who needed help and put 100% into every workout. I enjoyed our conversations about combat sports, family and life at Johnson Controls.
He is missed today and will be forever missed. God Bless you all in this time of sorrow and celebration.
Mark
I will miss John stopping by on his walks to talk about solar panels or whatever came to mind
John and I met in the pool at MacDowell! I dug his big personality and his off beat sense of humor. It was also cool that Holly was a better swimmer than John was, and John was okay with that. Peace to you all.
My daughter was one of Mr. John’s students for 2 years. My daughter definitely gave Mr. John a run for his money. She is very active and she needed redirecting more than most. I appreciated Mr. John for the way he looked at behavior and attitudes of my daughter in order help her focus. He didn’t say ‘ she’s a bad girl or she is just bad’, he focused on gaining her interest and was able to offer. Us ways of rewarding good behavior.
I loved that about him,he was ALWAYS so present and patient even though he wasn’t well.
Thank you and God bless your family he will be missed but now he is resting.
I would like to leave special condolences to the Steffes family and especially to Grandmother, Jan Hetzel, who has born many of the responsibilities of helping with the side problems and chores that come with the illness of the father of a devoted family. May God bless all of you in these hours of sorrow and help you through the pain that accompanies the loss of a loved family member. Our prayers are with you all.
My prayers go out to the family. John’s presence will be missed at the Pettit.
Mr. John was my granddaughter, teacher at Lloyd Barbee for three years. I remember his first day as the kids were being taught remotely during COVID. I can still hear the kids saying Mr. John Mr. John. What a great teacher. My heart goes out to the family.