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Dennis Cimino posted a symbolic gesture
Monday, October 3, 2022
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I remember driving down to Lacey quite a few times to visit him when I lived in Silverdale, and one evening we were barbecuing on the grill on the back porch and some raccoons came down from the adjacent tree and wanted what was on the grill. It was funny that they seemed to listen to him as he scolded them as at one point they had made it right up to the grill before we could rescue the meat off it. Anyway, I remember he wanted help with making his CPAP be storm resistant so I told him what to buy to be able to run that off an inverter and battery, which he did, as power there would go out regularly in storms due to downed trees. My fondest memory of him was when we were in Wellington, NZ back around September 1, 1976, we had a room at the Travel Lodge there on top the hill. I filled in for him as C.O.'s driver that visit because he forgot to be back to the ship the next morning so I took his duties for that over and drove the skipper, Billy Tally and George Miller, and the Prime Minister, from the pier to the Beehive, and it worked out as no reason why he should be punished for not being there. Ironically I ended up on TV as protesters jumped the vehicle and that got on tape, later that evening we were with our lady friends, Heather and Marg, in the bar and people recognized me and brought tons of beer to our table. Anyway he was always always a lot of fun, we spent a lot of time hanging out in San Ysidro with Frank and Jeannie Hibbs and their two kids, Jay and Jodi. His nickname to many of us was 'strawdogs' and or 'the bear' and I don't know of a single person in EW or Operations who just didn't think the world of Steve. A quality man with a huge huge heart and a smile that would light up a room. I'm posting this years late strictly because his death really hit me pretty hard at the time and I always promised to fly him down to his brother's place in Bend for a visit but we never did that flight. I'm sure he would have loved it. Anyway for what it's worth, people come and go in one's life but few could live forever in you as Steve will due to his incredible personality and his amazing sense of humor. I could tell a million stories about him and Jeff Miller and Pops Parsley and Doug Grassey and Dale Olson, and even Terry Priestley who handed me my orders for the Truxtun as I graduated from EW 'A' school at Treasure Island, telling me that of all of the people, he knew I was the person to go to the 'Tommy T' and live in the Ghetto. This post is really not just a tribute to Steve as much as it is a tribute to the incredible O.I. Division gang I had the honor and pleasure of sharing a berthing compartment and C.I.C. with for 5 years. We had a pretty amazing crew, and the Operations gang, Combat System's gang, everyone, was a 'team' really. Steve will be one of many who will be sorely and deeply missed, as will everyone, including Robert Hutchison who actually appeared on 'The Gong Show' and we stopped right in the middle of a war exercise to watch him on the C.I.C. helo deck monitor. Anyway, it's taken a few years to come up with adequate words for Steve Strassman, but he was truly and honestly one of the finest people I have had the pleasure of being affiliated with, as are the whole group I barely mentioned herein. That's it for now but I hope others will post and share their stories here too. None of you whom I served with will ever be forgotten. Best gang of people on this planet, barring none.
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Dennis Cimino posted a symbolic gesture
Monday, October 3, 2022
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The family of Stephen Edward Strassman uploaded a photo
Friday, June 1, 2018
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Jenice and John posted a condolence
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Just a quick note that there is another change to our plans for Stephen. Apparently the VFW double booked us with another gig so we cannot start the reception until 4:00 pm. I know, we can't believe it too. John and I think that it's Stephen's way of controlling the party again. Ya, he always had a way of doing that. But regardless, and come hell or high water, we WILL have his funeral and party on March 10th. So please plan on coming. It will mean the world to Stephen. thanks all. You've been so patient.
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Brenda Fairbrother (Mele) posted a condolence
Saturday, February 25, 2012
I only knew Steve on the internet, we played roulette on Pogo and I still use # 35 as one of my lucky numbers. Over the years we have lost touch but I have always remembered him. Today I thought I would look for him again only to find out he has passed away. I once sent him a necktie with a duck pattern and I was always on the lookout for a good duck decoy. His stories always made me laugh so hard (I am remember one about him dropping his pants in pee water OMG!) And the music he shared, I became a Sinatra fan because of Steve. I will always remember Steve (Newfie1). I am so sorry to learn of his passing. Good bye Steve .. I still have that big bag of salt.
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The Longshore Family posted a condolence
Monday, February 13, 2012
We loved Steve very much and wish him all the best in the next life. We loved his humor, his charitable nature, and his love for people. We'll miss him and all he did for us!
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Larry and Tish Epperson posted a condolence
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Tish and I were very sad to find out about Steve's death. We were part of the crazy scene in Leaveworth in the 70's. We remember one Fasching celebration in particular. Tish had whipped up a weird red demon costume, and Steve put it on and visited all the bars. One day we ran into Steve in Seattle, with Natalie and Mark and Dottie Handley. We had a great time running around.
Steve ran the line painting machine when we were living at Stevens Pass. Tish did a funny painting about that. It sold right away, and Steve was always sorry that he did not get it. He was a very funny guy, and a good friend.
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Stephens family posted a condolence
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Thank you all for your wonderful messages. John and I are very touched that Stephen meant as much to you that he did to us. And just in case you didn't see the update, due to extreme weather, we are having to postpone his services until a later time as we want as many people to be able to attend as possible. Stephens wish was that as many people would attend as possible, telling stories and jokes about him and having fun as 'he would be watching'. So please stay in touch and we'll let you know as soon as we determine another day and time. In the meantime, keep remembering those stories.
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Dale Olson posted a condolence
Monday, January 16, 2012
I guess what I've learned over the years is that once you get passed the family and close friends you grow up with, the rest of life is simply a road we all travel, meeting people and experiencing things along the way. Some will come and go with not so much as a glance. Others will leave an impression that lasts a lifetime. The influence of those, ultimately shape what kind of person we'll become.Steve was one of those kind of people and I'm grateful I had the chance to know him and call him a friend.
In the end, those of us fortunate to have known Steve are the better for it. You'll be missed and remembered often.
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Capri Carmichael posted a condolence
Thursday, January 12, 2012
I feel weird leaving you a message like this, because i remember how bad you were with the computer. I miss you a lot more than you will ever know. You're one of the funniest men on this planet and i will never forget what a wonderfully kind and caring person you are and although you didn't like to show it much, to those who knew you well it was very clear. I can't help but wonder how many millions of jokes and stories i never got to hear from you, but i will cherish the ones i did. How did i not know you were Canadian? There should have been many jokes to come from that. You taught me how to work a dishwasher and i can only hope you enjoyed my company half as much as i enjoyed yours. Look for me at the service, I'll be there thinking of you.
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Gene and Shirley Neiswanger posted a condolence
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Steve would bring us fresh ears of corn in the summer and I would give him homemade raspberry (from our yard) freezer jam which he loved. He is sorely missed by his neighbors in Lacey and especially us on 26th Ave. Happy flying with the duck, Stephen.
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WI. COUSIN SHARON posted a condolence
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
I WISH I HAD KNOWN STEVE BETTER. I ALWAYS GOT A KICK OUT OF THE PACKERS VS. THE SEAHAWKS.BUT STEVE DID HAVE A WI. CHEESEHEAD SO I KNEW HE WAS SOMEWHAT OF A FAN. STEVE SENT US SOME WONDERFUL SEA FOOD AT CHRISTMAS A FEW TIMES, AND DAD REALLY ENJOYED THE OYSTERS. ONE YEAR HE SENT US SOME SEAFOOD CHOWDER, THE BEST I HAVE EVER TASTED. I'M SURE HE WILL BE GREATLY MISSED BY YOUR WHOLE FAMILY. (YOUR WI. COUSIN SHARON)
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Dennis Hollingsworth posted a condolence
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Steve's my old navy buddy, my memories are lit by his smiling face.
Another fellow swabbie, Dale Olson wrote our pals an eloquent letter, informing us of Steve's passing and leading me to this forum. I hope Dale won't mind if I post it here (after reading it, I felt that I couldn't do better!):
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Hi Everyone,
I hope this reaches everybody, I’m not sure if the addresses are correct and if you know of others that aren’t listed, please forward.
I received a call last night from Steve’s brother to let me know that Steve passed away in November. He had gone through some of Steve’s old e-mails and found numbers for a few of us, so you’ll have to excuse me if you’ve already heard. I’ll attach a link to Steve’s obituary. As you’ll see in the obituary there’s a celebration of life on the 22nd of January.
It came as quite a shock, I knew he had some health issues but I didn’t realize it was so serious.
I’ll always remember Steve ‘Bear’ with that laugh in his voice and not a care in the world, always the one trying to keep us in touch.
When I first came on board Truxtun in ’76 Steve was a seasoned veteran of three years so when he started calling me ‘Cub’ I took it as quite an honor even though I think he only took me under his wing because I happened to come from his home state. It didn’t take much to become a friend of Steve’s, that was his personality. Whenever I see someone giving a speech (or talking to a group) and they raise their arm pointing skyward with their index finger I always think of Steve and how he’d have us all looking up during morning roll call when Richardson would inevitably try to make a point. Steve was always able to make the monotonous routine of life on board Truxtun bearable, when we all wanted to be somewhere else.
The few times I saw Steve over the years, he was always good for telling stories of all our exploits on board the Tommy T. By the end of the night, people that never experienced navy life were left with an image that morphed between Pirates of the Caribbean and Mr. Roberts. Sadly, reality was closer to the latter.
I hope we can all take a moment, as the sun sets on the 22nd, to raise a toast, to remember Steve, along with Robert Hutchison, Chief Miller and all those who we shared time with on board Truxtun that are no longer with us. Salute!
I know, for a brief moment, I’ll wish I were back on board again.
Dale Olson
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Dennis Cimino Posted Oct 3, 2022 at 12:16 PM
yeah, these guys, Steven, and Dale and Hollywood (dennis) and the whole O.I. gang, 46 of us slept in that 'Ghetto' berthing space together for years on that ship, we got pretty close. Steve Strassman was a good friend and myself and my 'ex' would go over and help square away the house for him because he wasn't able to do that towards the end. One day he asked what I wanted for Christmas and I told him; "Italian angel lights" and I still have the 2 sets he found for me, gifted to me. RIP Steve.
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Jim Taylor posted a condolence
Monday, January 9, 2012
Steve, thanks for all the memories of fun, crazy times; repairing your totaled car in the fire hall, golfing on frozen greens. The Space Bunny story told to Janae & Erica will live in infamy. My fire department mentor, I thank you for convincing me that the FD was worth fighting for. I believe it turned out well.
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Aunt Jeni Flynn posted a condolence
Monday, January 9, 2012
Steve, I really miss you. We always sent Emails about our lousy football teams and I enjoyed talking to you.
Know you are watching your Seattle Seahawks in heaven.
God bless you.
Love, Jeni Flynn
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Frank Valenti posted a condolence
Sunday, January 8, 2012
I'll always remember the good times we had in Leavenworth from the late '70's to '86 when you left. Thanks for your humor!
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Bob and Vicki Burnidge posted a condolence
Sunday, January 8, 2012
You were always fun and funny. You are going to be missed by many.
Rest in Peace Steve.
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Terri Gronka posted a condolence
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Roger typed out my paper and forgot Mary Anne's name at the end of her story I love Mary Anne just as well, Love Terri
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Terri Gronka posted a condolence
Sunday, January 8, 2012
I've known the Strassman family since I was about 13, now I'm going on 53. They are all considered family to me,all of them. Jenice's mom Angie saved my butt a few times, my parents were very strict, Jenice's parents were more down to earth, they were funny, out going people. They were I think more like my parents than my own, because I was at their house most of the time unless I was grounded, witch was most of my teenage years. Wonder why Jenice? It was all in good fun, didn't hurt anyone I don't think! But Stephen, Jenice and I have some unfinished buisness with you, and that is, you making us run because you were chasing us with the BB-gun. You were a good shot, he shot me in the butt and that really hurt, plus he would ask me if my parents ever feed me. He would say you can't stand sideways we wouldn't see you, called me Jenice's skinny friend. Well Stephen, Jenice and I found all of your hiding place's in the basement HA HA! I won't say what we found, various things! But I still love ya and John, Jenice, Mary Anne, Angie and Norm. I'm not going to say goodbye, cause I'll be seeing you again, and this time you'll be running cause I'm going to start target practicing with my BB gun! HA HA! We've had some good times when we were teenagers, can't believe we've made it this far [alive]. I'm glad we have stayed friends this long hopefully longer. Always say I love you as much as you can to your family and friends, because you never know what the good old lord has planed for us! You are all my family and I love you very much, Norm, Angie, Stephen, Jenice,and John. God Bless you all, the Strassman Family, Love Terri Gronka
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Aunt Dee and Uncle Jerry posted a condolence
Saturday, January 7, 2012
To the Strassman Family,
Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you now during your time of sorrow. May God Bless All of You.
Our Love,
Aunt Dee and Uncle Jerry
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