Memorial Trees
M
Marlene Sassali Burrows
August 07, 2022
N
Nancy Sinkovitz
August 05, 2022
Memorial trees planted for:
Stephen M Greene
STEPHEN MICHAEL GREENE Born: Sept 17, 1965 Died: July 18, 2022 Steve passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on July 18, 2022 at home. As most people know, Steve had been dealing with some serious cardiac issues for approx. the last 7 years, but had been doing well with the help of medications and the placement of a defibrillator. He most likely suffered a massive heart attack and passed quickly and painlessly. Steve was born in Spokane at Fairchild Air Force base to Art and Sandi Greene. When Steve was about 4 yrs of age, the family moved to California. In 1978, due to a job change for Art, and he and Sandi wanting to get out of California, they moved to Portland and then later settled in Vanc. WA. Steve and his sister Carrie, were able to spend summers in Spokane with their grandparents, and almost every weekend was spent at Deep Lake. Steve enjoyed learning to swim and ski, helping his Grandpa with jobs and learning how to use tools and other skills at a young age. Steve was very mechanically inclined and his Grandpa was a very patient teacher. He was always the first to admit that he was so blessed to have learned all he did from his Grandpa. It came in very handy throughout his life time. Steve spoke often and very fondly of his summers at the lake, how simple life was then and how lucky he was to have all the memories of fun, family and life long friends, especially the Swanns, Bob, Donna, Amy, Peggy and Kristy. He would also laugh hysterically when he would remember skiing , spotting someone on their dock enjoying the sun and he would ski by, lean way over and spray them !!! Steve graduated from Fort Vancouver HS in 1983. He was in the band and played an alto clarinet. Steve loved music but after being in band a few years, decided he preferred to listen to it, rather than play an instrument. He loved all music; KISS, Queen, AC/DC, Styx, Journey, and some country. He preferred his music LOUD and had a stereo and speakers in his car, his room, the garage, the back patio etc. He also enjoyed singing karaoke. He also really enjoyed playing pool, and would often use the pool cue as a microphone or an air guitar, and sing as loud as he could. His favorite song to sing with the pool cue was Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen ! Steve worked for many years at Les Schwab Tires and then moved on to a job with Patriot SealCoat, a company that painted the lines and handicap emblems in parking lots. Steve was a hard worker and was always very proud of his work. He took great pride in a job well done. Steve had a fascination with cars from a very young age. He had many Hot wheel and Matchbox cars that he would play with for hours. When he started kindergarten, he would pack his pockets with cars so he could play with them at school. He didn't see a problem with this, but the teacher did and quickly made a call to Steve's Mom. After the phone call, the before school routine consisted of a " pat down" to make sure there were no cars in the pockets. Steve, being Steve, switched his " stash" to his lunchbox , you remember the metal kind with the spot for a thermos?! It held a lot of cars, but again, the teacher ruined things with a call home. After that, Steve would hide the cars outside along his route to school. Again, he was caught by the teacher and he had to surrender them to her until the end of the school year. Steve was also very creative and loved to talk and make his fellow students laugh. Again, the teachers were not always thrilled with Steve's social hour. While in the 4th grade, he had a teacher who believed that a suitable punishment for talking too much in class and being disruptive was to stay after school and write " I will not talk in class" or " I will not disrupt the class" at least 100 times. Well, Steve, now older and more creative, quickly figured the solution to this problem was to write out these sentences AHEAD of time, ( I believe he already knew the saying WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER) So he had dozens of pages written that said " I will not______ ( blank) " Then if and when , he had to stay after school and write , all he had to do was fill in the blank !!! Steve always enjoyed working and learning new things. When he was about 8 or 9, he got to go to work at his Grandpa's fence company. He was given a big magnet, and he was responsible for picking up nails, screws, pieces of metal, etc. all around the yard. This also meant that he was around a lot of guys that worked there and often got an earful of words he may be shouldn't have heard. He came home after one of those days, and when asked how his day was by Grandma, he proceeded to tell her " it was good, and Grandpa said the F word!". I believe Steve's job at the fence company ended that day, and Grandpa had some explaining to do !! At about 17 years old, his fascination with cars turned to REAL cars, lots of cars and FAST cars ! From the time of his first car to present, he owned and fixed up 52 cars !! He worked on each one, and sold them all for a profit except one. He loved each and every car, and kept them very clean inside and out. Steve occasionally drove too fast, and on the day of his sisters wedding, he and his soon to be brother in law, went to pick up the cake. As they were driving back, going past a park which was a 20 MPH area, Steve was reminded to " slow down, you don't want to get a ticket" Just then a policeman hit his lights, and stopped Steve. In true Steve fashion, he nicely explained to the policeman that he was indeed going a bit too fast, but was afraid to hit his brakes as he had his sisters wedding cake in the trunk, and if it was ruined he would be in BIG TROUBLE. He did NOT get a ticket ! After his cardiac diagnosis, Steve as no longer able to work, as his job was very physical. It was about that time, that he moved in with his parents, which was a blessing for all involved. With his parents getting a bit older, and needing more help with things around the house, and Steve needing something to occupy his free time, it was a great solution all around. Steve enjoyed keeping the yard looking nice. He was always willing to go along with his Moms ideas of things to add . He added a pond, and some solar lights, hung MANY wind chimes, painted bird houses, planted flowers, and kept the weeds away. In fact, when greeting the new neighbors, Steve would welcome them, introduce himself, and then ask " are you going to get those weeds that are along the curb"?!?! Steve was also so kind and caring in his role as helper/caregiver for his parents and also for the 2 fur babies, Phoebe and Bella. After the death of his Dad, Art in 2020, Steve was always there for his Mom, and took great care of her, taking her to dr appts, cooking, cleaning, running errands, and making her laugh. In fact, shortly before he passed, he made her a cup of coffee, and was going to take her shopping. He was always thinking of others. Another thing about Steve was how fast he could talk!!!! As a child Steve was slow to start talking, and his Mom figured it was because he had an older sister who could understand anything he tried to say, and they seemed to have their " own language". Steve would point and say something that his Mom didn't understand, His sister Carrie would say " He said there goes a truck like Grandpas". Steve would smile and nod his head. Or he would mumble and point at something, again his sister would interpret " Steve wants to go to A & W for a root beer". Again, Steve would smile and nod YES. He did become quite the talker at approx. age 3,and once he started talking, he had a lot to say, had to talk fast to get it all in, and once he started talking, he didn't stop. Steve had many friends, and he was a TRUE friend ! He was generous to a fault, thoughtful, loyal and kind. If a friend, or neighbor, needed help, Steve was ready and willing to help. When his friend Lynn became terminally ill, Steve did all he could for him; brought food, took him to the Dr., cleaned if need be, or just sat and talked with him. Steve was preceded in death by his Dad, Art Greene, grandparents Bert and Mart Hayward, and Emma Greene, and many other family members and dear friends. He is survived by his Mom, Sandi Greene, sister Carrie ( Reece ) Gibbons, nieces Samantha and Danielle, nephew Ben, and great niece Austynn Grace, his uncle Rick ( Shirley ) Hayward, cousins Chris, Jenny, Dan and Jeff, and many other family members in Spokane, aunts Bev ( Dan) Seifried in New York, Susie ( Jim) Bowe in TX, and cousins in NY and TX. Steve will be greatly missed by SO MANY! He LIVED, he LAUGHED, he LOVED and he was LOVED by all ! In this crazy world we live in now, take a minute, and be a STEVE. Be kind, thoughtful, caring , and love thy neighbor ! Look for the bright spot in things even on a bad day ! And go out of your way to help someone else, just because ! When you see stripes in a parking lot, or a Les Schwab sign, take a minute and think of Steve. When you hear Bohemian Rhapsody, crank it up loud and picture Steve singing with a pool cue, and smile ! I will miss my little brother so very much ! He was my first friend and I am grateful for the nearly 57 years that we had together and all the precious memories ! I will miss his laugh, his sense of humor and his kind heart! I can honestly say, I never wanted to be an only child ! Our lives without Steve will be difficult, there will be tears and laughter as we try and get through each day without him. He wouldn't want us to give up and be sad, he would want us to be strong and live each day to the fullest. We all have one more guardian Angel watching over us ! A special Thank you to his friends for checking in and helping my Mom with things, especially Chris and Mark ! Your thoughtfulness and help is greatly appreciated by the family and I do believe that Steve knows you are there for my Mom. Also a big Thank you to the neighbors, Nancy, Dick and Ann, and Chaz and Brittney for their help and support ! Funeral will be on Friday August 5th at 1 pm at Evergreen Staples Funeral home. 3414 NE 52nd Suite 101 Vanc WA. Grave side and burial services will be in Spokane, August 18th at Pines Cemetery 1402 S Pines Rd, Spokane Valley, WA at 2:30pmSeptember 17, 1965 - July 18, 202209/17/196507/18/2022
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