Batchelder, Stephen Harold

Stephen Harold Batchelder died Aug. 13, 2011, from cancer.

He was born Oct. 19, 1947, to Harold and LaVonne “Bonnie” (Gardemann) Batchelder and grew up in Paralta, Iowa. He graduated from Springville School and ran The Paralta Speed Shop while working at the Carnahan Station and being mechanic for the Carnahan Stockcar. He loved making cars go faster, once turning part of his parents' farm ground into a go-cart racetrack. Steve enlisted in the Air Force and was sent to Vietnam where he worked on airplanes instead of cars. He was sent to Korea during the Pueblo Crisis and that is where he met his wife to be, AeIn Kim “Kim.”

Humble with a great sense of humor, Steve was listed in the Who's Who of America and invited into the Mensa Society. He was vice president of Information Systems at Fisher Scientific, then vice president of Information Systems at Draka, when he was placed on the heart transplant list. He retired to Florida in 2001 and became the quartermaster and post adjutant of the VFW. It was at the “V” that Steve found the perfect combination of work and pleasure.

Even though he traveled quite a bit and worked long dedicated hours for companies, Steve's children could always count on their father to provide a compassionate, loving, and wise ear and heart for any problem they encountered. He always brightened their day with his optimism and ability to see life with the glass half full instead of half empty.

Surviving are his wife, Kim of Orlando, Fla.; daughter, Patricia of North Dakota; sons, Alan (Angela), and granddaughter, Meadow, of Virginia and David (Jessica), and granddaughters, Brianna and Lilly, of Massachussettes; a sister, Janet (Ralph) Koons of Orlando; and two nephews; Mike and DJ of Utah.