Saturday, May 2, 2026, was a beautiful spring morning.  In God’s perfect timing, Steve

entered life eternal and is now pain free. After a short, courageous, hard-fought battle

with pancreatic cancer, with his family at his side, Steve left this world. Heaven has

gained one of the most caring, loving, faithful men of God, and he will be dearly missed

by all who were blessed to have known him.

Steven Edward Wegner was born on March 2,1957 to Herman "Rudy" and Bernice

Wegner in Billings, Montana. Steve attended school in Laurel, graduating in

1976. He was quite an athlete, excelling in basketball, football and track. After years of

constant practice, high expectations and demands, he chose to forgo college and went

to work for the Burlington Northern Railroad.

After four years of sewing his wild oats and enjoying the freedom he felt he did not get

to have in high school, Steve met the love of his life at Walton’s Cabin in Beehive along

the Stillwater River in Absarokee on August 1, 1979. Steve and Shawna were married

exactly one year later, on August 2,1980. They credit the success of 46 years of

marriage to always going back to, 1) Their promise to the Lord, 2) The promise to each

other and 3) The promise to their family and friends on the day they took their vows. It

was not always easy, and they both admit they have gone through everything

imaginable together, but by going back to their vows, leaning on and trusting in the Lord,

and having true love and ultimate respect for each other, they were able to overcome

every obstacle that crossed their path.

Steve went to work for Cenex Refinery in 1988 and remained there until back issues

forced him into early retirement. Steve enjoyed his job, but he LOVED firefighting. He

was a volunteer for the City of Laurel and served on the Cenex team. When he retired,

it was firefighting he missed the most. He felt like this gave him a purpose and he took

being a first respondor very seriously. He made good, life-long friends on the

department and he cherished each one of his firemen brothers.

Steve’s greatest joy was being a dad and papa, and boy was he ever awesome at both!

A son, Ryan Edward, was born on March 1, 1982. He died 10 days later due to being

10 weeks premature. Ryan’s death was extremely hard on Steve. The Lord blessed

he and Shawna with the birth of a beautiful daughter, Heather Diana, on January 9,

1983. Knowing Heather would be their only child, Steve rolled her down the long hall

from the nursery to Shawna’s hospital room and said, “We are going to have to work

really hard to assure Heather does not grow up to be a typical only child.” As it turns

out, he did not hold up his end of the bargain as she was pretty spoiled by her daddy.

But, despite it, she has grown to be a wonderful, loving, caring woman and phenomenal

mom.

Steve was an avid hunter and fisherman, taking advantage of the great outdoors

whenever the opportunity arose. For years, he enjoyed annual hunting trips in the

Missouri Breaks with his dear friends. However, his annual Christmas shopping trip with

Heather was the highlight of his year. He would let her skip school, and they would start

the day off with breakfast, would shop all day, play games at the arcade in the mall, and

end the day with a special dinner at McDonalds. They did this every year until she got

married.

Steve’s ability to love and care for those who needed it most was unmatched. He

absolutely loved to stop at a child’s lemonade stand and give them a $5 bill just to watch

their smiling faces. Heather inherited her dad’s caring nature and has devoted her life

to education and a special love of nurturing and educating children with special needs.

She graduates with a bachelor’s degree in education on Saturday, May 9. Steve was

beyond proud of her and was looking forward to traveling to see her graduate.

Heather and Ken blessed Steve and Shawna with two beautiful, loving grandchildren,

Kenzie Raylin and Gavyn Earl, giving Steve the honor and joy of being a papa. He took

this role very seriously and understood the assignment. It surely was the role of being

the “yes” man in their lives. They grew to know there was very little papa would say

“no” to. There were also very few things he could not fix, get the spot out of, or simply

make better. He cherished every single moment with them. Steve looked forward to

driving Kenzie to softball tournaments each summer. He absolutely loved watching her

play, but each time she was at bat, you could find him hiding behind the dugout as it

made him too nervous to watch; However, once he heard the crack of the bat, he

emerged to cheer her on again. He was so very proud of Gavyn’s participation in FFA.

When he was appointed an officer role, Steve cried with pride. Gavyn had fun raiding

Papa’s closet each time he was home. He would swear to return each item, only to

have to be reminded a few (or 10) times! During a trip to the Black Hills and Denver a

couple of years ago, Gavyn thanked his papa for teaching him “How to be a good man”.

Gavyn graduates from High School on Saturday, May 16, and Steve will surely be there

in spirit. The seat reserved for him is sure to be noticed as being void of a very special

man in Gavyn’s life. Papa loved you both “To the Moon and Back 10 zillion times!”

Steve is preceded in death by his infant son, Ryan Edward, his father Herman (Rudy)

Wegner, his mother Bernice Wegner, and brother Rick Wegner. He is survived by his

wife of 46 years, Shawna; daughter Heather (Ken) Harrison; granddaughter Kenzie

Harrison and grandson Gavyn Harrison; his only sister, Shelley (Ray) Southworth;

Mother-In-Law Diana Swecker; Sister-In-Law Jodi (Jim) Nelson; Brother-In-Law Jamie

(Lisa) Swecker; Sister-In-Law Teri (Ed) Michael; Sister-In-Law Rosie (Mark) Jackson;

and Sister-In-Law Tasha Carter; all of whom he loved very much.

Steve was a very devoted family man and absolutely loved family gatherings. He and

Shawna are blessed beyond measure with many nieces and nephews, and great nieces

and nephews.

Memorial Services will be held Monday, May 11, @ 10:00 a.m. at The Rock Church, 820

West 9 th Street Laurel, MT. Luncheon will be served immediately after the service.

Memorial contributions may be made in memory of Steve to:

The Laurel Volunteer Fire Department

214 W First St., Laurel MT 59044

The Rock Church

820 W 9 th St., Laurel MT 59044

American Cancer Society

PO Box 6704

Hagerstown, MD 21741

Until we meet again, my love. Rest in Peace.