Steven John “Steve” Matzke, 71, of Crookston, MN, died at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, ND on Monday, August 8, 2022, after a brief illness.
Steve was born in Crookston on April 24, 1951, the son of Bill and Doris (Amundson) Matzke, who themselves had settled in Crookston from the Twin Cities a few years earlier in 1948. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and began his education in the Crookston Public School system. After his graduation from Central High School with the Class of 1969, Steve attended the University of Minnesota Technical College for a brief time. He then began his lifelong love for long-haul trucking. While Crookston remained home base, for most of his life Steve crisscrossed the country carrying cargo to every state in the union many times over. During the coldest of the winter months, he tried to keep his destinations in the southern states as much as he could. Steve retired from Wally Cash Trucking of Grand Forks several years ago after traveling millions of miles in his career.
One of his favorite “other jobs” was working security at We Fest in Detroit Lakes and Moon Dance Jam near Walker, which he did for several years. Steve was a died-in-the-wool NASCAR fan and attended countless races throughout the country during his trucking days and when he had some down time. He loved keeping up with news and happenings of his classmates from Central High days and sort of became the unofficial historian of the ’69ers. Steve loved his life and wouldn’t have done a darn thing differently. He was an ‘original’ and will be fondly missed!
Family who survive Steve include his sister, Marjorie Baumrucker of Woodbury, MN; 2 nephews, David Baumrucker of Cottage Grove, MN and Michael Baumrucker of Inver Grove Heights, MN; other relatives; and many lifelong friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Doris Matzke; and grandparents, William and Agnes Matzke and Clarence and Edith Amundson. May God bless the memory of Steven Matzke.
A Celebration of Life service for Steve will be held at a date yet to be determined.
Online messages of condolence may be sent to Marjorie and family at www.stenshoelhouske.com
