Steven Oel Spelman, Jr.

Steven Oel Spelman, Jr.

October 25, 1960 - August 13, 2011

Steven Oel Spelman, Jr.

October 25, 1960 - August 13, 2011

Obituary

Steven Oel Spelman, Jr., 50, of Southern California, died August 13, 2011, at his Coto de Caza home.

Steven was born October 25, 1960, in Pasadena, California, to Steven Sr. and Carol. He attended Richard Henry Dana Elementary School, Marco Forster Middle School and Dana Hills High School. He continued his education at University of California Santa Barbara, where he earned his BA in Economics and was granted a fellowship at University of Southern California, where he earned his MBA. Steven competed as an Academic Decathlon student in high school and later supported the Orange County Academic Decathlon as an advisor to the students and helped to run the competitions.

He enjoyed baseball, surfing and volleyball growing up and continued surfing and volleyball for many years. He loved golfing with friends and fly fishing in Idaho and Colorado.

Steven is survived by his wife, Michelle; sons, Andrew and Michael; daughter, Hailey; stepchildren, Thomas and Sarah Trauger; and mother, Carol Rush. He was predeceased by his father, Steven Oel Spelman, Sr. He was the oldest of four and is survived by Janet, Laura and Mark.

He had an accomplished business career, joining Arthur Andersen as a CPA, followed by roles as Chief Financial Officer for Capital Pacific Holdings and President of Banning Lewis Ranch. He and Michelle purchased their own winery and produced award-winning Joliet Vineyards Zinfandel.

Steven was generous with his money and a strong supporter to his family. He was in the middle of putting four of five children through college, with his youngest starting next year. He was looking forward to grandchildren and was cherished by his young nieces, Brianna and Samantha. His older nieces, Ashlee and Kathrin, have fond memories of their uncle Steve and loved him dearly.

Services will be held at 2pm on September 3rd at Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club www.clubcorp.com/CotodeCaza and we welcome friends, family and colleagues. A small family ceremony will be held earlier that day to spread his ashes at sea.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Steven’s memory to the Orange County Academic Decathlon Association.

OCAD Association
PO Box 9050
Costa Mesa, CA 92628
Attn: Kristin Rigby

or online at http://academicevents.ocde.us/decathlon.htm

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59 responses to Steven Oel Spelman, Jr.

  1. I am so sorry to have just heard of Steve’s passing. My brothers and I grew up with Steve since grade school. I remember having some great times together paddling on the Dana Point outrigger team, surfing and playing volleyball or just hanging out giving each other a hard time. Though I had not seen him in several years I’ve always considered Steve a good friend. My thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Spelman family for your tremendous loss.

  2. On behalf of the Orange County Academic Decathlon OCAD Board of Directors and the Orange County Department of Education, we send our sincere condolences to Michelle and the entire Spelman family. Steve was an exceptional person and we will all miss him so much. He was a treasured volunteer, board member, donor, and friend to OCAD for nearly 20 years.

    Take care,
    Kristin Rigby
    Project Manager
    Orange County Academic Decathlon

  3. Bob Larwood says:

    I write this with a heavy heart knowing a long time friend has passed. I’ve known Steve since grade school at Richard Henry Dana and have fond memories of things we did growing up, when life was simpler, and Dana Point had just a few thousand residents. My deepest sympathy to the Spelman family.

  4. Paul Kuliev says:

    The loss of Steve came as a complete shock. Steve has been a part of my life since 1988 and I guess I took some comfort in that feeling that he’d always be around. Shoot, I took it for granted that he would be! While I will miss him I will also be grateful for all the memories.
    Michelle, Andrew, Michael, Hailey, Tom and Sarah – My thoughts and prayers are with each of you. Each time I met with Steve he would mention each of you by name and express how much he cared for you and how much you meant to him. Good times, bad times, it didn’t matter. Circumstances changed but the love for you was always a constant. In the years to come you may wonder about many things but you’ll never have to wonder if he loved you. What an amazing gift to leave behind.

  5. Our working with Steve at BLR and Makar was a pleasure and professionally productive. We miss the candid honesty with which he handled his professional role and decisions. Integrity is often missing in business relationships; not so with Steve. A very significant loss.

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