Obituary of Steve Lepic

Steve Lepic, of Iowa City, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Thursday, November 21,2024, following complications from his battle with cancer.

No immediate visitation or funeral services will be held; however, a celebration of life will be held in Spring 2025.

Steve was born in Iowa City on July 8, 1947, to Jaro and Reta Lepic. He was the oldest of three sons, the older brother to Ted and Tom. Growing up in Iowa City, the three Lepic boys often found ways to stir up trouble and keep their parents on their toes. Steve, also known as “Hod” by his brothers and several friends, was the ringleader on several of these (mis)adventures, but he also had a lot of help from his brothers.

Steve met the love of his life, Alicia, in high school at City High. They married soon after high school on April 5, 1968, and recently celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary. Throughout their marriage, they had many good times and a few tragic times but always stayed by each other’s side.

Steve worked at MidAmerican Energy (previously Iowa Illinois Gas & Electric) for over 50 years, starting part-time as a welder and working his way up to the state’s project manager overseeing natural gas transmission pipelines. In the early days, Steve’s wife would drop him off at work on Lower Muscatine in their station wagon with the kids in tow.

Steve had many interests throughout his life, but these interests mostly centered around animals, the outdoors, adventures, and construction projects. These interests started early in life when he joined the Cub Scouts. Steve progressed to Boy Scouts and then earned his Eagle rank. He was awarded the God in Country award and was elected to the Order of the Arrow, a recognition for outstanding service.

Steve was an avid photographer. He took photos of nature, wildlife, and dogs at AKC competitions. He loved his Bouvier des Flandres dogs and was a dog trainer, dog handler, and show dog owner.  His first Bouvier, Gronk, was the #2 male Bouvier in the United States for several years.  Later, his dog, Scout, was the #1 ranked female and won many “Best in Show” awards.

Steve loved hunting trips and had many adventures in Alaska, northern Canada, and the western United States. He was very animated when he shared stories about the prizes and perils of these journeys.

He was always looking for ways to make more of what he had. Alicia and his kids endured many of Steve’s home renovation projects but loved the outcome. He really knew his stuff and was good at not only imagining the potential but making that potential a reality.

Steve’s friends and family always knew when he had a new idea or was thinking about causing trouble based on the twinkle in his eye and his mischievous Lepic grin. He enjoyed attending Baltimore Ravens football games with his daughter, Lisa, and Iowa Women’s Wrestling matches with his daughter, Cathy.

Steve’s love for archery matched his natural talent for the sport. He participated in many tournaments and competitions throughout his life and won several awards, medals, and titles. Some examples include, but are not limited to: Bowhunter of the Year from the Precision Shooting Equipment (PSE) North American Bowhunting Adventure; the Iowa State Archery Association (ISAA) Pro-Am Champion (in 2020 and 2021); bronze medals at the Iowa Games and Iowa Senior Games;  Master Senior Male Bowhunter Freestyle at the National Field Archery Association (NFAA) Midwest Indoor Sectionals; and Master Senior Male Bowhunter Freestyle at the National Field Archery Association Outdoor National Target Championship. Steve’s love for the sport culminated in Steve developing the Archery Paradise archery course at which he has hosted many archery tournaments for multiple organizations. The family plans to continue these tournaments as many of these archers have become part of Steve’s adoptive extended family.

Steve was preceded in death by his two sons, Danny and Andy; his parents, Jaro and Reta; his sister-in-law Pam Miller; and his nephew, Danny Miller.

His family includes his wife, Alicia; their daughters, Lisa and Cathy; granddaughters, Kylie (& Bailey) Wetherell and Emma Peterschmidt; great-grandsons, Noah and Wyatt; his cats Brody & Max; his brothers, Ted (& Kate) and Tom (& Polly); his sisters-and brothers-in-law: Tom & Karen Zeman, Jim Miller, and Terri & Isti Toppler; and many nieces and nephews and their children. His family also includes his archery brothers, sisters, and children.

The Lepic family is very grateful to Dr. Yu of the University of Iowa Hematology & Oncology Department and the nurses in MICU at University Hospital.

Please feel free to express your condolences below.

In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting Steve’s memory to fund one of the following organizations. Steve felt it was essential to help cultivate kids’ love for archery and the outdoors and the family plans to honor this legacy. Contributions to both organizations will help fund scholarship funds for young archers, equipment grants for teams, grants to cover tournament entry fees, and much more.

Iowa’s chapter of Scholastic 3-D Archery (S3DA) is a family-oriented youth archery organization. To contribute, please click on the following link  https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/LKNU37ANMZLH8  . Donations can also be mailed via check. Please make checks payable to Iowa S3DA and send them to: PO Box #1344, Burlington, IA 52601.

Additionally, Flint River Archery Club supports youth archers ages 8-17, helping them attend tournaments and participate in 3D events: indoor target and outdoor target archery. To contribute to this organization, please click on the following link: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/EFN3G984XFJC2