Kerry Steffan

MADISON
Kerry Margaret (Weir) Steffan passed away Saturday morning, January 14, 2017, in Madison, WI, at the age of 42. Born on Feb. 10th, 1974, in Sturgeon Bay, WI, she grew up in Door County before leaving to attend school at UW-Madison. This was one of the highlights of her life, partly for the college experience, but also for the lifelong friendships she made while in school. Kerry also lived in California, Utah, and Washington before ultimately returning to Madison. She was the daughter of Jeff and Maggie Weir, the wife of Shawn Steffan, the mother of Nadia and Elliot Steffan, the sister of Kyle Weir (Angie Stiemsma) and Katy (Troy) Rass, and the daughter-in-law of Marge Lifschultz.
Since May, 2013, she had been fighting successfully against grade IV astrocytoma (aggressive brain cancer). Her oncology team at the UW Hospital was superb, and Kerry lived almost three times as long as most others with this disease. Kerry was an avid photographer and had a great appreciation for nature. She majored in Entomology at UW-Madison ('96) but also had broad knowledge of bird identification and was quite accomplished at American Sign Language. Kerry worked for years in the biological sciences, in agriculture, and volunteered in her kids' classrooms, teaching entomology, sign language, or whatever subjects the kids were learning. She would often volunteer until folks convinced her to accept wages for her efforts (so they could see more of her). Kerry's quick wit, warmth, and conscientious work ethic made her a valuable part of the Madison Metropolitan School District.
In her words, Kerry's greatest accomplishments were raising two smart, creative, thoughtful kids. Kerry chronicled their young lives in photography and writings. She also made many lists. One list was "Things You're Glad You Did," and in this she wrote that taking Insect Taxonomy was one of her favorites--in that class, she collected and accurately identified her future husband, with whom she traveled and lived all over the western US, had "adventures abroad and at home," and raised two kids who "have brought untold joy to my life."
In the last years of Kerry's life, she was still quite active: she enthusiastically participated in Dragon Boat rowing teams (the Water Striders!) to raise money for cancer awareness, and was a strong advocate of Camp Kesem, a summer camp organized for children touched by cancer. She enjoyed many bike rides with her family, hikes at local parks, visits to Chicago museums, seeing her favorite music groups, and just relaxing with friends at the Terrace on a summer evening. Kerry was an extraordinary human being, and tried to lead by example. Her final lesson: she taught her family and others to recognize and soak up the innumerable tiny joys of life.
Memorial service arrangements are still being finalized. Kerry specifically requested that instead of flowers or gifts, she'd like any contributions in her name to be made to Camp Kesem (the UW-Madison chapter).

Please share your memories of Kerry.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Service
3610 Speedway Road Madison
(608) 238-3434