Steven John Davies, 75, of Hiawatha, with family by his side, passed away Oct. 29, 2022, at Amberwell hospital, in Hiawatha, after a prolonged illness.

He answered to many names: Dr. D., Dr. Davies, Steve, or Steven John, called himself Fat Steve, and Slim Davies. His most desired and cherished title was daddy. For those who were blessed to know him, mere words are insufficient to describe this unique personality. His storied life began in Kingman, Kansas, Jan. 28, 1947, delivered at home by his father. His parents owned and operated Livingston Mortuary, which at the time also operated the ambulance service and the furniture store. He was born with a heart condition, fortunately to educated parents, his father with medical related training and his nurse mother, who saved his life. Despite this condition, he was a strong and active child who dreamed of being a cowboy. It was during his senior year he suffered a heart attack and was told his life expectancy would be short. He was advised to not pursue college as the strain would be too much. Steve remained determined to do whatever he set his mind to do, and he certainly did not slow down!

To say that he was highly educated is a vast understatement. After graduating high school, he began his higher education career with a BA in speech pathology, simultaneously obtaining a BA in elementary education from Wichita State University. He continued with an MA in Speech Pathology, a certification in Special Education Administration at ESU, an MS in Special Education from KSU, Education Specialist degree in Administration, Masters degree in Criminal Justice from WSU, and topped it off with a PhD in Adult and Continuing Education from KSU. He belonged to the Phi Delta Theta fraternity throughout his college years and was active in student government. He highly valued educational achievement, but had a down to earth style that many found surprising,

Steves professional working career began in Hiawatha as a speech/language pathologist and audiologist and over the years included multiple positions in the fields of speech, education, and criminal justice. Most notably, his career intertwined his education and criminal justice backgrounds including, the Superintendent of Education at Kansas State Industrial Reformatory in Hutchinson, Kansas, USD #105 Rawlins Co-Atwood, USD #331 Kingman-Norwich, Secretary of Corrections for the State of Kansas, Chairman of the Kansas Parole Board, and he returned to Brown County as Director of Special Education Interlocal #615, followed by Superintendent of Schools for USD#430 South Brown County from which he retired in 2017 after 16 years of service to the community.

He was a loving and devoted son, husband, father, and friend. At the age of 46 he married Tracy, who he met while teaching as adjunct professor at Pratt Community College. They wed in his hometown of Kingman, Kansas, on April 1, 1993, April Fools Day, his favorite day of the year. On this day, he also instantly achieved his lifelong desire to become a father, upon the consent of Raven (age 3) and again in 1994 with the birth of their son, Drew.

Steve always considered northeast Kansas his home and friends here his family. Regardless of his role, Dr. Davies devoted his life to kids to help them develop a positive self-image, he always had their best interests at heart.

Steve championed various organizations too numerous to list such as: Lions Club, Jaycees, Boy Scouts of America, KARC, NASA, etc. that supported the development of young people, the disabled, and the disenfranchised. In a 1985, publication of the College of Education at KSU Perspectives in Adult Learning and Development Vol 9, Steve wrote an article entitled A Chance to Square Up where he detailed the value of a quality stair stepped educational program to support the needs of the inmates 85% of whom had not completed high school or a GED as he would later be quoted that 90% of incarcerated people return to the community and that the purpose of corrections is to return them as good neighbors. He served as Scoutmaster of Troop #112, and coached little league soccer and baseball. He devoted his time to mentoring youth, and networking to help people young and old achieve their goals. He had a passion for horses, vintage cars, and collecting antiques.

Although he had a giant personality to match his size and would go toe to toe with anyone who wanted to challenge him, he was a sentimental, tender hearted, humble man with a phenomenal sense of humor. You always knew where you stood with Steve. He was a true humanist and treated everyone with respect, and in turn was widely respected.

Ironically, he was told his life would be limited due to his weak heart, along with several other infirmities that came his way, however, he chose to live a vibrant life that he was so willing to share with others. Ultimately, it was his heart that proved to be the strongest, outlasting everything until the very end.

Steve is survived by his wife, Tracy Davies, of Hiawatha; his daughter, Raven Sharice Milam Davies, of Topeka, Kansas; his son, Drew Christian Davies, of Kansas City, Missouri; and his sister, Karen Jo Vickery, of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Steve was preceded in death by his father, Joseph Newcomer Davies; his mother, Gladys Marguerite Hanson; and his sister, Deanne Wagner.

A celebration of Steves well lived life will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, at Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Hiawatha. Tony French will officiate.

Friends may call at the funeral home after noon Saturday where the family will meet with friends from 4 until 6 p.m. that afternoon. The family will have a storyboard provided to post your Steve stories so that all who visit may enjoy the humorous and loving man he was.

Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at Walnut Hill Cemetery, Kingman, Kansas.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the Handicapped Equipment Playground Fund at Horton Elementary School which may be sent in care of the funeral home, 124 S 7th Street, Hiawatha, KS 66434.

A special message may be sent to the family at www.chapeloaksfuneralhome.com.