Following his recent cancer diagnosis, Steven passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. Lakeview Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Fairmont is assisting the family with arrangements. www.lakeviewfuneralhome.net

Steven Wayne Sumey was born to Wayne Sumey and Violet (Dahl) Sumey on June 7, 1954, in Minneapolis, Minn. He was baptized at Oak Knoll Lutheran Church in Minnetonka, Minn. in 1955 and later confirmed there in 1969. He graduated from Wayzata High School in 1972, lettering in football, basketball, and baseball. He was also a 3-year member of the Minnesota All-State Symphony Orchestra.

He studied chemistry at St. Olaf College, where he played in the orchestra and on the baseball team. A highlight of his college pitching career was being awarded team MVP and Conference Champions his senior year, before graduating in 1976. He went on to attend the University of Minnesota Medical School and participated in the Rural Physician Associate Training Program in Windom, Minn. where he met a young nurse and his future wife. Along with graduating from medical school in 1980, he became a member of St John’s Lutheran Church, then married Deborah (Eigenberg) Sumey in Okabena, Minn. After a brief honeymoon, he began a 3-year Family Practice Residency in Duluth, Minnesota.

Upon completing residency, they returned to Windom where he practiced for 4 years. In 1987, they moved to Fairmont, Minn., where he practiced at the Fairmont Medical Center and Smart Clinic until 2018, famously creating animal balloons for well-behaved pediatric patients. In Fairmont, he restored a Victorian home (circa 1900), where they raised their 5 children. When not caring for patients and his young family, he continued to play baseball for the Windom Pirates and later the Fairmont Martins until age 37. As a member of the American Association of Family Physicians, he enjoyed traveling with family and friends to medical conventions. During his 44-year membership at St. John’s Lutheran, Steve served as a Sunday School teacher, Elder, and Chairman of the Congregation. For many years, he also served as a caregiver for his elderly parents and younger brother with a traumatic brain injury. A long-suffering Minnesota sports fan, Steve also enjoyed golf, auto repair, furniture restoration, building custom dollhouses, and spending time with his family and 10 grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Wayne & Violet Sumey; his sister, Susan Sumey; brother, Jonathan Sumey; and brother-in-law, Bruce Iverson.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Deborah Sumey; brother, James Sumey of Staples, Minn.; his children and their spouses, Christopher and Katie (Marshall) Sumey of Sioux Falls, Jessica (Sumey) Kesterson of Edina, Benjamin and Kimberly (Roth) Sumey of Saginaw, Mich., Michael Sumey and Megan Schierenbeck of Minneapolis and Daniel and Haley (Scherr) Sumey of Edina; father-in-law, Herman Eigenberg of Windom; and grandchildren, Elijah, Kirsa, and Ingrid Sumey, Graham, Violet and Penelope Kesterson, Henry, Levi and Lyla Sumey, and Arthur Sumey.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Steve’s name to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (pancan.org).

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