Stephen Kirk Wagner left this world on Friday, April 5th, 2024, at age 39. Stephen was also known by family, friends, and strangers he befriended all over the world, as Steve...Kirk...SKW...Steve Wag...Captain. There are probably a few more. We’ll go with ‘Steve’.
Steve was born on February 8th (a birthday he shares with James Dean, a fact that really pleased him), in 1985. He started walking when he was only 7 months old. Some people sit back and wait for life to come to them; Steve launched into everything head-first and leaning forward. Barricades had to be set up on the stairs on Christmas Eve to keep 4-year-old Steve from clambering downstairs to see what Santa brought at 4:00 am.
He absolutely loved animals. There was the Boa Constrictor Period... boa constrictors which liked to escape from the aquarium in his bedroom and turn up in his sock drawer. Fish, hamsters, and a rabbit. And – of course, closest to his heart – dogs and cats. Zeke and Lucy and Oreo and Yahi (who Steve believed was half wolf). His dear pup Kelvin and Ferb the Cat were his constant shadows.
He was born with a remarkable, voraciously curious mind. He had to experience everything; he didn’t want to just hear about things. Subjects in school came easily to him. In 7th grade, he was invited by Duke University to take the SAT and he scored off the charts. He angered his high school Advanced Algebra teacher because Steve hadn’t solved a problem the way the teacher had assigned it – Steve simply did the problem in his head. He received his bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Georgia... taking way longer than the traditional four years – not because he couldn’t handle the work – but because he kept taking courses that interested him, but which didn’t count toward his major. His intelligence and sense of logic were at times exasperating for his parents and step-parents. Never one to just “Please do it because we say so,” he always insisted on a fair, reasonable, and logical reason for doing something.
He was extremely resourceful. In college, he built a little cabin in the woods constructed completely out of discarded wooden doors. It was meticulously designed and constructed and even had a heating system. He had a car in his late 20’s that wasn’t a convertible – which he wanted – so he simply cut off the roof of a damaged car and turned it into a one. If he was told, “I don’t think that can be done” or “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” he found a way to make it work surprisingly well.
Steve didn’t have hobbies; he had passions. He LOVED movies. He created an impressive home theater in his house in Jacksonville and enjoyed introducing his wife to many classic films she had never seen. They kept a running list of all the movies they wanted to watch together. He was the same way with music, with a heart for old vinyl. He amassed an impressive collection of records from frequent thrift store excursions. He burned mixed-tape CDs for his friends and family, choosing their favorite songs. He loved sailing, rock-climbing, martial arts (he studied at the Shaolin temple in Chinatown, Chicago), surfing, paddleboarding, painting, horticulture, holistic plants and healing, and especially learning instruments and playing music... guitar, ukulele, harmonica, piano, Native American flutes, a didgeridoo which he acquired (and mastered) in Australia, drums, and the handpan. He LOVED to dance and to sing. Steve taught his wife to dance, and it was one of their favorite pastimes together.
Steve loved ADVENTURE, and he was fearless. In high school he lived and worked with indigenous Gullah residents off the South Carolina coast, and later lived for several months with the Aboriginal people of Australia. This was during the “Kirk” period of his life, when he went by his middle name (named after Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise). Years later his family would get phone calls late at night from Australia with someone saying over the phone, “Is Kuhk theh?” His journeys took him to the Florida Keys, Italy, to study art in Paris where he practiced painting at the Louvre, and to climb Mayan temples in Mexico. He spent a few years living in Hayesville, North Carolina with his grandmother. He always had a profound connection to his familial roots in the Blue Ridge mountains, and was proud to own the cabin his great-grandfather had built in the early 1900s.
His adventures extended to several different careers. An accomplished sailor (which he learned from his Dad, Karl) he crewed a tall ship in Key West. Later Steve worked tirelessly for Greenpeace, then earned his Captain’s License by working on the Chicago Water Taxi, and was authorized to helm ships up to 100 tons.
Eventually his travels brought him to Chicago and it was there, on January 11th, 2014, he had his first date with Erin Campbell. When they hugged for the first time, Steve said that he felt like his heart was on fire. Erin was the love of his life, his soulmate, his partner, his companion, and his very best friend. They were married on September 16th, 2017, in a lovely outdoor wedding filled with personal touches. For a honeymoon they chose to go to Thailand where Steve rented a sailboat so they could explore the Phang Nga Bay. After another year in Chicago, they moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where they made their beautiful home. Erin and Steve had a tradition of traveling to far off places in February for "birthday week" (their birthdays are six days apart). They celebrated birthdays in Jamaica, Mexico, Aruba, Hawaii, and Costa Rica. They also explored Italy, Ireland, France, Denmark, the Cayman Islands, and the Bahamas over their years of travel together. As much as they loved traveling, they equally enjoyed the simple pleasures of being cozy by a fire together, playing board games, listening to vinyls, and snuggling with their pets.
In Jacksonville he found work that he loved as a certified Chi For Two embodiment coach. He loved working with his clients; they felt very seen by him. Steve was a co-developer of Chi for Two - The Energetic Dance of Relationship, a somatic trauma healing method. He was also co-founder and former Executive Director of the startup non-profit, Streams of Sound, which puts musicians into healing facilities throughout Florida. He also became a certified Tai Chi instructor and enjoyed blessing his family and friends with traditional Chinese tea ceremonies. He devoured spiritual texts from many traditions and loved discussing spirituality with anyone who would listen. Steve loved that he got to work from home, along with Erin, who also worked from home.
He was loved and adored by his dad, Karl, and his mother, Dee, and by his step-parents, Michele, Steve, and John. He was also loved deeply by his sisters Emma and Katherine, and he was so proud of them and the young women they had grown to be.
Stephen...Steve...Kirk...Steve Wag...Captain. We miss you terribly and we will until the end of time.
A memorial service for Stephen will be held at St. Paul's by the Sea Episcopal Church on May 5, 2024 at 5 pm, with a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring Stephen by either planting a tree through the Arbor Day Foundation https://shop.arborday.org/commemorative-trees-for-others?producttype=TIM or making a donation to Villages of Hope https://villagesofhope.org/donate/.
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