Shawn K. Stevens

Shawn Keith Stevens born July 24,1966 died peacefully surrounded by his family on Monday, August 12, 2024, after a complicated hospital stay. He was 58. Shawn leaves behind his wife of 35 years, Amy (Wohlfrom) Stevens, his children Zachary, his wife Kirstin, Amanda, Ashley and his dog Zoey. In addition to his wife and children Shawn leaves behind a sister Shelly (Stevens) Deane, her husband Alistair Deane and their children Kevin and Amanda Deane (children Cooper and Cameron), Emily and Cody Davis, Sarah Deane and her fiancé Andrew Sakalian. Sister -in-laws, brothers-in-laws, nieces and nephews: Sherry (Wohlfrom) and Frank Paduano their Children Jacob and Andrew; Sandy (Wohlfrom) and Jeff Wessel their children Megan (Wessel) and Jack Pflum and Erica Wessel; Jessica (Wohlfrom) and Michael Williams and their children Elizabeth, Blake and Bryce. He also leaves his father Gordon Steven of South Florida and his mother-in-law and father-in-law Dorothea (Jean) and Richard Wohlfrom and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. He is preceded in death by his mother Charlanne (Mercurio) Ryan and infant grandson Isaac Stevens.

Visitation will be Thursday, August 15th from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Vitt, Stermer and Anderson Funeral Home 4619 Delhi Road in Delhi Township. Services will be Friday, August 16th at 10 a.m. at St. Dominic Church 4551 Delhi Road in Delhi Township. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Christ Hospital Nursing Department & Education Donate Online (thechristhospital.com) 

Shawn spent a lifetime building things, first on construction crews and then on his own as a handyman who could patch walls, put down floors and miter a corner so tight a hair couldn’t fit in the seam.

Later, he built a family with the love of his life, Amy Wohlfrom Stevens. They met in the cafeteria at Oak Hills High School when they both were 15. She thought he was handsome and asked him to buy her lunch. He fell hard and bought her lunch every day until the end of the school year.

“The rest is history,” Amy said.

Shawn pitched for Oak Hills and was known for a curve ball that could buckle knees. He considered baseball the greatest sport in human history and remained a fan long after his playing days. The Reds were his favorite, from the Big Red Machine to the Nasty Boys, and he watched or attended games whenever possible.

He was a movie fan, too, and when he found one he liked, he watched it often. Caddyshack, The Expendables and the Indiana Jones movies topped the list. Christmas Vacation played on the Stevens’ family TV pretty much from Thanksgiving to New Years.

His three children - Zachary, Amanda and Ashley - watched along with him, sometimes because they had no choice but mostly because they liked spending time with him.

The feeling was mutual. One winter, after a heavy snow, Shawn noticed the kids building a snow fort and decided to get in on the action. He used garbage cans to help them shape and stack giant snow blocks and reinforced the walls with plywood.

“It was cool,” Amy said. “It stood until April.”

Shawn cheered at his girls’ soccer games and coached his son’s baseball team. When Amanda and Ashley got interested in golf, Shawn bought them a set of clubs at a garage sale. When Zach joined the Boy Scouts, Shawn helped him carve a race car from a block of wood for the pinewood derby.

“The first year, we just made it look cool,” Zach said. “The next year, he said we’re going to win.”

And they almost did, finishing fourth in a race with more than 100 cars.

When Zach watched his dad make repairs around the house, he wanted to do the same. So Shawn put together a tool box for him. He filled it with some of his own screwdrivers, hammers and wrenches and encouraged Zach to help him when there was a job to do.

A few years ago, when Zach moved into his first house, Shawn came over to help renovate. Father and son worked and talked for hours, day after day, installing closets and fixing ceilings and making the place feel like home.

Sometimes, Shawn got a little carried away. Once, a few weeks before Christmas, Amy woke to find the wall between their kitchen and dining rooms demolished. They’d talked for months about expanding the kitchen and Shawn had decided to get started that night.

Amy wasn’t thrilled with the timing, but the work got done. And it turned out great, as Shawn’s work always did.

“He loved to be perfect,” Amy said.

When he fell ill a few months ago, the kids, now all grown, came back to visit and spend time with their dad. They sat and talked to him, even when he couldn’t talk, or when he was sleeping or drowsy from medication, just to let him know they were there.

On Shawn’s last night, his family tuned into the Reds game followed by Indiana Jones movie on TV. Amy and the kids gathered at his bedside. It was sad but also perfect. Everything Shawn loved was in one place.