Stephen Wayne Livingston

Steve was born in Marysville, Kansas on November 12, 1946, to Lionel Gareth and Marjorie Jean Livingston (Nork). The eldest of seven children, he graduated from Marysville High School in the Spring of 1965. On June 25, 1966, Steve married Donna Jean Kraemer, after having asked her to marry him during a weekend visit to Emporia.

Together, Steve and Donna built a beautiful life and lovingly raised two sons: James “Thad” Thaddeus, born November 19, 1967, and Stephen Bartholomew, born January 15, 1969.

Steve was a lifelong lover of learning and all things history, most especially military history – a passion that first began when he learned about the battles that shaped his own father’s experiences in World War II. Steve took courses at Emporia State Teachers College and Washburn University in 1965 and 1971 respectively, and enlisted in the National Guard in 1966, serving for nearly a year in Vietnam after his Guard unit was activated in 1969 – during which time he was promoted to Captain and awarded a Bronze Star. After returning from Vietnam, Steve continued to serve part time in the Guard until leaving service in 1984 at the rank of Major. In 1970, Steve went to work as a frameman for Southwestern Bell in Topeka before being transferred to the Kansas City area in 1972, where he worked in Planning as a draftsman until reaching retirement.

If the history of famous battles captivated Steve’s attention throughout his life, so too did the competitive thrill of games and sports, which played an important role in his relationships with his wife and sons. Steve was an avid fan of the Kansas City Chiefs, the Kansas City Royals, and the K-State Wildcats (he and Donna held season tickets to the Wildcats for many years) – and while not precisely a fan, he was reasonably tolerant of the Kansas Jayhawks. Steve also collected trading cards and other sports memorabilia, and traveled to many sports shows with his older son, Thad, meeting athletes and collecting autographs together. One of Steve’s proudest moments was watching as Thad sang the National Anthem at a Royals Game in honor of the Special Olympics.

Steve’s passion for history and competitive spirit also manifested in an affinity for military-themed board games, which was an interest he was proud and gratified to share with his younger son, Stephen, throughout whose childhood the pair spent countless hours eagerly immersed in the cardboard-cultivated battlegrounds of military strategy games like “Axis & Allies,” making not-infrequent weekend visits to local shops in exuberant pursuit of the next new game to add to their collection – that is, when they weren’t busy attending conventions in honor of another shared love: Star Trek.

Steve maintained close relationships with each of his siblings throughout his life, and the seven of them generally gathered a few times each year and stayed connected with phone calls and smaller get-togethers in between (often meeting up to play poker or watch sporting events together). Steve belonged to many loving families, groups, and friendships throughout his life, which is no surprise when one considers his personality: he was easy to love and be loved by, he cared deeply for others, and he was generous, kind, intelligent, and charismatic. But make no mistake about it: Steve was also born to belong – and the very first place he was born to belong was one of such enduring fondness, trust, safety, respect, growth, forgiveness, stability, joy, and love, that one could hardly help growing into greatness. A place made for seven: Steven Wayne, Mary Therese, Michael Walter, Margaret Jean, Anita Marie, Lawrence James, and John Joseph.

And yet, as any history lover knows, it doesn’t always take a lifetime to make a person who they are: a single event or experience – no matter how mundane – can completely alter the direction of a person’s life. Perhaps the most important of those “mundane” moments in Steve’s life arrived on the day that he decided – having noticed a Catholic Church near his workplace in downtown Kansas City – to attend a Mass. Although he was baptized and raised Catholic, Steve had not had much involvement with the Church as an adult, but he figured he may as well go once. Well, “once” became a regular occurrence, and Steve became connected with the Monsignor. The pair began to speak often, prompting Monsignor Fiedler – having recognized something that Steve could not yet recognize in himself – to encourage Steve to join the Diaconate. The rest, as they say, was history.

Steve was ordained as a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Church on May 27, 2006: an accomplishment which opened many doors in the remainder of his life, and one of which his mother was unendingly proud. After ordination, Steve was assigned to the Cathedral of St. Joseph, where both he and Donna quickly became immersed in their new Church community. In Steve’s early years as a Pastoral Assistant, he handled many logistical responsibilities, some of which included connecting candidates entering the Church with necessary training, and coordinating presiders for specific services like baptisms and weddings. When Steve’s Pastoral duties and Donna’s volunteer work converged in a unique opportunity to serve the Church together, they undertook parish wedding coordination as a team. They served skillfully in that capacity for thirteen years, enthusiastically dedicating an unknowable number of weekends to the work they’d been called to do – together. Steve also led scripture studies and performed religious rites and ceremonies, and parishioners enjoyed hearing him speak. Steve also joyfully presided over many rites and ceremonies involving family members throughout the years, lending an added layer of reverence, sentiment, connectedness, and celebration to many significant familial events. Steve was a mentor, advisor, friend, and spiritual leader to many throughout his life, and he will be both deeply-missed and fondly-remembered by all those touched by his spiritual endeavors.

Steve is survived by his wife Donna; his sons, Thad and Stephen, and daughter-in-law, Beatrice; his siblings: Mary Roe, Michael (Eilleen) Livingston, Margaret “Peggy” Longstaff, Anita (Jim) Doyle, Lawrence “Larry” (Kristi) Livingston, and John Livingston; an uncle, James “Jim” Nork; eighteen nieces and nephews, and a truly uncountable number of great nieces and nephews. Steve was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents, eight aunts and uncles and their spouses, a brother-in-law, a niece, a nephew, and a cousin.

A Mass Of Christian Burial will occur Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 12:15 PM at Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, 416 West 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64105. A visitation for Stephen will be held Wednesday, January 24, 2024 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Chapel Hill - Butler Funeral Home, 701 North 94th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66112. A rosary will follow at 6:00 PM.

Stephen will be laid to rest in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Parallel Pkwy & North 126th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66109.