Stephen Windschitl, age 65, of Arcadia, passed away on Monday, January 29, 2024 at his home in Arcadia.
A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, February 17, 2024 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church – St. John Paul II Parish in Carroll. The Celebrant will be Fr. Patrick Behm. Concelebrant will be Fr. Andy Windschitl. Music will be by All Strings Attached. Lector will be Chaplin Angelo Luis. Gift Bearers will be Bennett Sims, Roxie Reinart, Vicki O’Tool, Lennette Cecil, and Deb Fiscus. Burial will be at a later date.
There will be no visitation prior to the funeral mass.
The family requests that you kindly omit any flower tributes, instead please make memorial contributions to the Animal Rescue League of Carroll, or the Family Resource Center in Carroll.
Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll, and online condolences may be left for Stephen’s family at www.sharpfuneral.com.
Stephen (Steve) Windschitl, died peacefully in his home in Arcadia, Iowa on January 29, 2024 surrounded by his wife and chief health advocate of 45 years, Rebecca Windschitl, and his devoted caregivers. Stephen was born in Superior, Wisconsin on May 29, 1958 to Cletus and Valerie Windschitl, the third in a large Catholic family of seven siblings including his four brother and two sisters. Just before he graduated from Kuemper High School in Carroll, IA on April 6, 1976, Steve was involved in an accident that altered the course of his life and profoundly touched the lives of his immediate and extended family, his friends, his wife and her extended family, as well as the caregivers who tended to Steve throughout his adult life.
Steve loved competitive sports. In his younger years enjoyed coaching T-ball to the younger children. In high school he found a passion for wrestling. Over time he was an avid Vikings fan, rooting for his team from his armchair. He supported his wife’s career teaching music in Carroll and the surrounding communities by attending perennial concerts while he was able, and being a happy presence for students waiting for lessons in the All Strings Attached music studio when he was there. He loved reading Louis L’Amour books in his younger adult life, and had a keep appreciation for and encyclopedic memory of the Star Wars and Star Trek series throughout his life. He loved words, and was a whiz with word search puzzles, often creating his own and sending them to family. Most of all, he loved spending time and playing checkers with his dad, Clete, often for hours during strategic matches.
It is said that the measure of a man is not so much by his accomplishments but how the events of a life reveal who he is. Steve made clear to everyone in his orbit that the purpose of his life was other people. He was endowed at the age of 18 with the gifts of the spirit which he shared with others every day of his life: the deep wisdom of love, the kindness of understanding, the fortitude of patience beyond endurance, the generosity of forgiveness and of smiles and laughter, and a knowledge communicated by his very being that the Holy Spirit was with him daily.
Steve was preceded in death by his beloved father, Clete, and his older brother John and nephew Jeremiah Windschitl. He is survived by his wife Rebecca Windschitl of Arcadia, mother Valerie Windschitl of Ames, Ia; siblings Dr. Mark (Dr. Pam Joseph) Windschitl of Seattle; Dawn Windschitl (John) of Des Moines, Ia; Martha (Mark) Royer of Ames, IA; Chris (Jody) Windschitl of Lake City, IA; Gretchen (Roy) Janssen of Ames, IA; and Dr. Paul (Tricia) Windschitl of Iowa City, IA, and 30 nieces and nephews.