Steven Hoecker

Steven Hoecker, 75, passed away on January 17, 2025, at his home in Madison, WI. Born in 1949 to Rosemarie (Gray) and William Hoecker in Parma, Ohio, Steve lived a life of adventure and took as many people along for the ride as were willing to join him. He was big brother to Mike and little brother to Sandy and took both roles very seriously as a protector and antagonist.

As a young boy, Steve loved the outdoors, and as it was the 1950s, Steve could usually be found unsupervised around the neighborhood or on outdoor adventures with his best friends, Wayne and Johnny, and his siblings. Fishing stories were commonplace, and rods were not always necessary. Some fishing adventures only required a net, a wheelbarrow, and a 40lb catfish. Neighbors likely wished the kids would have stuck to fishing, but they were versatile and also enjoyed terrorizing the neighborhood cars and buses with snowballs. Lucky for Steve, he was fast enough to evade angry neighbors and quick thinking enough to hide his brother is a window well so they didn't get caught.

While not particularly fond of school as a child, Steve loved learning and excelled in college where he studied wildlife biology at Virginia Tech and met his unwitting partner in adventure and love of his life, Elizabeth. To show his love he showered her with gifts like fishing rods, a gun, and bow and arrows, and cooked her inedible cakes. Despite these misaligned offerings, a freezer full of frozen rats for the birds of prey he rehabilitated, and the squirrel he raised from a baby that lived with them and buried nuts in her plants, she loved him fiercely and they were married for 53 years.

Not to leave his newlywed wife's family without experiencing the death-defying aspects of nature, he took his mother-in-law white water canoeing, where she promptly ended up in the New River. She lived to tell about it and surprisingly, so did he. Steve's son-in-law would later experience the same fate but on the Brule River in kayaks. Steve felt really bad. His son-in-law was not so sure.

One of his biggest adventures, perhaps, was that of parenthood. Steve helped raise 38 kids: his daughter, Jenna, and 37 foster children. One of the best parts about having Steve as a dad, apart from his unconditional love, was his ideas for parent child activities. These activities were rarely 100% safe but always 100% fun. Take, for instance, the time he took his daughter driving on frozen Lake Superior to teach her how to spin out and recover while in icy conditions. Fortunately, he had insurance, and the car repair bill was relatively affordable.

Steven loved children and volunteered in both his wife and daughter's classrooms in his free time as well as volunteering for events like Kid's Fishing Day and Fishing Has No Boundaries. He adored his nieces and nephews and loved scaring the crap out of them with scary stories, promoting unhealthy eating habits by baking monster cookies the size of a small dinner plate, singing silly songs, and telling dad jokes. Coincidently, all children that met Steve, suffered from the same affliction: a quarter stuck behind their ear.

Steve was so passionate in his commitment to others, the community, and the environment, that he made it his career. Steve cared deeply for the people with which he worked and for their collaborative mission. Nowhere was this more evident than in his work as the director of the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center (NGLVC). NGLVC staff shared that, as a leader, Steve was known for his integrity, vision, compassion, and unrelenting work ethic. The staff and visitors would often wonder 'What is Steve up to now?' as he shared his excitement of viewing wildlife while hauling roadkill into the field for raptors to feast on or place loafing logs in the pond for the turtles to sun themselves.

Retirement was an adventure that included a trip across the U.S. and Canada to Alaska and back in the world's tiniest pull behind camper with his beautiful wife and their equally adorable dog, multiple extended stays in Florida, as well as many trips to see family and friends. The travel slowed considerably when Steve became a grandpa and took on one of his most cherished roles. Steve and his grandson, Will, enjoyed many of the same things: general mischief, staying up past their bedtime, antagonizing G'mama, nature, fishing, telling jokes, and stealing M&Ms from the M&Ms jar and blaming each other.

Employing the tactics that made him a wonderful dad and uncle, it was easy to see how he earned the title of Will's 'most favorite person'.

In fact, Steve was a favorite person on many people's lists. He took a genuine interest in others, rooted for their successes, and rolled up his sleeves to help whenever given the opportunity. If you mentioned that something needed to be done within earshot of Steve, it is likely he would go out of his way to do it whether you knew he planned to or not. Most of the time, it went off without a hitch but there was that one time that a zero-turn riding lawnmower ended up in a pond and that other time a porcupine ran off with his jacket. Caring for those he loved brought Steve joy (and likely the occasional headache) and he did so selflessly and with an incredible sense of humor. He will be deeply missed.

Story telling was dear to Steve's heart. His life had so many more adventures than can fit into one, albeit lengthy, obituary. Please share Steve stories that bring a smile to your face in the comments below.

A celebration of life will be held at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center (29270 Co Hwy G, Ashland, WI 54806) on May 17 th, 2025 at 1pm.

In lieu of flowers, it was Steve's wish to have memorials support educational programming at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, a cause close to his heart. This will help continue his work that merged community, education, and partnerships in his beloved Northwoods. Visit https://nglvc.org/support/ to donate.

Steve is survived by his wife of 53 years, Elizabeth, his daughter, Jenna (Cory) Stoughtenger, his grandson, Will Stoughtenger, his sister, Sandy Rusinko (Medina, OH), his brother, Mike (Sue) Hoecker (Chatsworth, GA), brothers-in-law John Williams and James Williams, and his nieces and nephews: Tracy (Jeff) Miller, Ben (Angela) Hoecker, Katie Hoecker, Allison (Andrea) Williams, Justin (Hans) Williams, Kevin (Melanie) Williams, and Amy (Jason) Legg.

Steve was proceeded in death by his mother, Rosemarie Hoecker (Gray), his father, William Hoecker, his nephew, Joshua Hoecker, his brother-in-law, George Rusinko, his mother-in-law Julia Ann Williams (Matthews), his father-in-law John Williams, and many well-loved dogs and other assorted critters.

Cremation Society of Wisconsin, Altoona is assisting the family.