When you’re going out at 2 a.m. on a call about someone choking, you don’t want to lose 30 minutes or even 30 seconds taking a detour. Steve put a lot of time into preventing detours and I’ll always believe his maps saved time and lives.

Tears slide down my face when I think of Steve’s family handling his funeral on Labor Day, a major holiday. That’s a tough road none of us want to travel. The service is 10 a.m. Monday at Reece Funeral Home.

I did a couple of stories about Steve, whom I called “the map man.” He made a copy of his map book for me and that still makes me smile.

I’ll be adding a note to the map book I made: “Blessed are the map makers. They show us the way.”

Cindy Toopes can be reached at (641) 683-5376 or via e-mail at cindy@ottumwacourier.com.