My brother Steve passed away very suddenly on Tuesday, September 18th. The suspected cause of death is due to a pulmonary embolism. He was 57 years old.

He went to the hospital Monday morning because he was having trouble breathing. Initially, it didn’t seem serious and his nurse told me he was being held over night for observation and that he’d probably be released the next morning. Later that evening is when they determined it was a pulmonary embolism. Tuesday morning I talked to him at about 9:30am. He didn’t sound good and he said he felt terrible, but he joked a little with me before he had to go because they were about to run another test. He told me to call him later that day when I got home from work so we could chat some more and he would probably have more information about the tests they were running. I told him I definitely would and we said goodbye. The call was about 10 minutes. He went into cardiac arrest about 45 minutes after I talked to him. They revived him briefly but he went back into cardiac arrest and they were not able to revive him that time.

Steve enjoyed simple pleasures; watching NASCAR, movies, time with his dog Chico, and assembling model airplanes and ships. Cars were a passion of his since he was a little boy, so now the heavens have a top-notch mechanic. He’ll be happy to find the parts he needs are always in stock there. He was a reserved person, but when he was among family and friends, he was a jokester and had a contagious laugh and fun spirit. Steve was very generous and a kind person. His sudden passing has left us all in shock and I find it hard to talk about him without getting watery. It's a painful loss. There's some comfort in knowing that he will be with my Mom who passed away only 5 months ago, but he was too young to leave us. He was on the heels of retirement and had been making preparations for that. I know I'll be asking over and over why we had to lose him now. 

You're gone too soon, Steve. We love and miss you.