Steven Wayne Soffe passed away peacefully at his home in Logan, Utah on March 4, 2023 after a brief, but courageous struggle with colon cancer.
He was born on March 8, 1951 and adopted at the age of 14 months by his loving parents, H. Wayne and Dorothy Ruth Stringfellow Soffe. He was raised in Provo, Utah, along with his sister Sherry, and graduated from Brigham Young High School in 1968. He later served in the Pennsylvania Harrisburg mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Steve’s father, a coach and instructor at BYU, passed away when he was 15 and his mother passed away when he was 21. Luckily he didn’t have to be alone too long because he met and taught the gospel to his future wife, April Lynn Yost, while serving his mission. They met again when Steve returned to Provo where April was attending BYU. Because they were both orphans, Ron and Beverly Kidman, the parents of one of Steve’s former mission companions, welcomed them into their home and provided them with a wonderful family to be a part of for the rest of their lives. Steve and April married July 13, 1973 in the Provo Temple.
As a young man, Steve worked a gritty, blue collar job at Geneva Steel, which later served as the site of Kevin Bacon’s iconic dance scene in the 1984 film, Footloose. His family heard regular facts like these throughout his life. When Steve was laid off during the economic downturn of the late 1970s, this became a blessing in disguise. Steve and his family were able to relocate to Cache Valley to focus on a college education in engineering. Steve graduated from Utah State University and worked as a systems safety engineer for the space shuttle program at ATK (formerly Thiokol,) for 22 years. He then worked at Hill Air Force Base until his retirement in 2020. He always loved to share his love of aeronautical facts and history.
Steve loved being a woodworker and built many beautiful pieces of furniture for his family members. After his retirement he was able to spend more time doing this and made many wonderful toys and furniture for his grandchildren. He was always the one that everyone called when something stopped working or something needed to be done, and he was always the one who showed up to figure out what to do. He often wondered why his family thought he could do anything, and the reason was because he could do anything, except for maybe plumbing. Plumbing was his nemesis. He loved to help people and be of service whenever he could.
Steve served in many church callings over the years. He especially enjoyed serving in a USU married student stake and as a ward librarian team along with his wife April. They have always said that they work best as a team rather than individually, so this was a very enjoyable calling for both of them.
Steve’s children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren were his world. He loved his family so much and was never happier than when he was with them. He attended every dance recital, band concert, cheerleading competition, play, graduation, and all the football, baseball, soccer, basketball and lacrosse games. He was always the proud dad or grandpa taking all the pictures with a huge smile on his face.
One of the greatest joys of Steve’s life was when he was gifted an Ancestry DNA kit a few years ago which resulted in him connecting with his birth family. He found that he had two brothers, Paul and Mike, two sisters, Diane and Pam, his Aunt Beth and Uncle Bob, and multiple cousins who all welcomed him and April into their amazing family.
Steve, who started adulthood as an orphan, was blessed with an amazing family and was so happy to see all of them before he passed. He is survived by his wife, April and children, Jason (Mireesa), Wayne, Amy (Cam), and Mark (Lindsey). His beloved grandchildren are Taeler (Jaxsen), Terra, Vivianne, Makinley (Taft), Makelle, Oliver, Miles, Kennedy and Harrison and great-grandchildren Lennon, and Grant, who will be arriving in May.
Steve’s family would like to thank the many friends, neighbors, home health and hospice workers, and hospital staff who provided care for Steve and made his last days more comfortable.
Funeral services are under the direction of Allen-Hall Mortuary and will be held Saturday, March 18 at 12 p.m. at the Cliffside Ward building, 1380 Mountain Road, Logan, Utah. A viewing will be held at the church from 11:00 to 11:45 a.m. prior to the funeral service and on Friday evening, March 17 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Allen-Hall Mortuary, 34 E. Center St., Logan, Utah. Interment will be in the Logan Cemetery. The funeral will be livestreamed and can be accessed by going online at
www.allenmortuaries.com
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