Family and friends
Larger than life itself, our Grandpa Steve was a force to be reckoned with. He hooked us with words that carried us into his colorful world, one that was rooted in the Chuck where his spirit now rests. He passed away doing what he loved, where he loved. Now, his memory lives on with our beloved Grandma Cassy and with each of you. Grandpa Steve told us stories that made us grin ear to ear, eyes... more
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Join MemoriesCatherine Peavey Where it all began. July 1, 1960
Peter Rice Steve so generously agreed to help us get 40,000 feet of personal use spruce out of the woods north of Meyers Chuck with his yarder on a log float . It was "ground lead" and true to logger form , when a log would come up against a big stump , I'd be waving to stop and rerig, but that was usually met with a bigger plume of blue smoke and full throttle 👍💪
Catherine Peavey Grandpa Steve with baby Katrina.
Catherine Peavey Steve with Cassy and Matt, just enjoying life!!
Catherine Peavey Steve with Greg Rice, out having fun!
Shawn McAllister February 2003 with otter hides from Cholmondeley. I remember Steve talking about not finding a lot of otter there, but that he had perhaps got his largest one ever that year. He also told a story of running in the skiff one of those cold winter mornings. He said a leg on his chair broke, and he fell to the floor of the skiff. He felt so silly, that he got up and looked around to make sure no one had seen him flop. Then he remembered he was in the middle of nowhere, in Cholmodeley, in midwinter with no one around for miles!
Shawn McAllister In 2004 Steve and Cassie had a new floor to put in their home. I was out in the chuck and had the time to help. I just wanted to do it as a favor and to spend some time with them. It was a fun day. When we were done Steve asked what species of tree I still needed to finish my place out at Island A. I said I needed a spruce or a cedar…These pics are of the monster cedar that Steve single-handedly got me to return the favor. It was enough to finish siding my place. Of course he didn’t leave it at that, the spruce was soon to follow!
Shawn McAllister So excited to have dredged up a few more pics. This is September 2004. Cade and I were coming or going from Island A with great lighting on Steve coho fishing. So wish I had taken more photos over the years, memories are everything!
Greg Rice Pete and Steve and I were in our early 20's when we had the good fortune to buy the cabin in front of their home. For fifty years Steve and Cass have been our mentors and friends, the best neighbors we could ever hope to have. Back in 2006 I began the seemingly impossible job of moving a house. There were several head scratching times when I felt pretty stuck. Steve just seemed to wander by at the right moment and bail me out. He dropped a couple big spruce trees that were close to the house, of course laying them down just perfectly. Then as I was standing on the beach wondering how to move 8 huge beams up the hilltop the site, he dropped by and lifted them each by the end (more weight than possible for most other human beings) and helped guide them up the hill. In the picture he is manning the winch, pulling the house down the beams. He was always willing to offer a hand, and it was a strong one.
Shawn McAllister Steve is dancing a spring jig on April 20, 2013 as Cassie and I belly laugh and clap! Every visit with Steve and Cassie was good times!
Catherine Peavey Steve and his brother Clint, enjoying a day together.
Melissa Peavey Surprise visit to see grandpa in Wrangell back in 2018. Here we are at Ted Case’s house. Grandpa was in town getting some boat work done on the Patsy.
Melissa Peavey Lonnie, dad, & grandpa enjoying some coffee and a visit on the Peavey float during mail day. December 2018.
Catherine Peavey Dan, Steve, Matt,and Josh
Catherine Peavey A photo taken by a tourist that stopped at the Post Office to mail a letter.
Catherine Peavey Steve, Ed, And Darrell waiting for the mail plane on a cold November day.
Melissa Peavey Day trip to see grandma & grandpa in Meyers Chuck. September 2020.
Katrina Peavey To select one story is nigh on impossible when they were all told by your favorite teller of tales. I revisit each chapter slowly, refusing to accept The End. Resisting the urge to pick up the phone to let him know my lures are empty, an elk tag was drawn, and that today I received the postcard sent from him and Grandma last December. Thinking of you. Perhaps that’s why he never confined his own stories to pen. Like the long tales and short poems he dreamed up, but never wrote down, the story doesn’t end with Grandpa Steve. Rather, it continues with us where we can revisit him from time to time in keepsake memories to unlock for one another. Like this one. “How many, Slim?” The Old Sourdough’s gaze reaches mine, blue reflections twinkling over bubbling moons dotting the onyx cast iron pan. “Just one, Grandpa.” He shakes his head and flips a sourdough flapjack onto the porcelain plate encircled by faded forget-me-nots and rosy hyacinths. “You need to put some skin on those bones.” Warm maple pools. Melting butter icebergs. Bites to savor. Moments to chew over. I’d give anything for a second. Or this one. “How do you not let them hurt you?” “Who?” “People.” “You just need thick skin. Don’t let them get to you. You’re strong. You’re a Peavey.” We sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the beach log, his bear paw engulfing my little one. Quiet stretched around us, a comforting quilt stitched by invisible hands that prodded me to look. Look closer. I memorized them in that fleeting moment last August. Lines drawn by sheer determination and grooved by bittersweet grit. Scars from stories buried deep beneath new skin oiled with the daily toil of living in the middle of nowhere, yet the center of our family's everything. Dirt encrusted nails smiled up in crescent-shaped reminders of shared roots weaving past and present together towards a future unwritten. His memory tells me to visit from time to time, but not to reside there too long. His stories, both told and untold, remind me to live in a world crafted from the same humble pride he fashioned his from. His words urge me to live with thick skin, to laugh with a full belly and to carry a light heart. And his last goodbye hollering don't let the bedbugs bite, but that's another story.
Catherine Peavey A memorabile Thanksgiving 2021 with Shawn and Darrell.
Catherine Peavey Steve enjoying ‘The Cremation of Sam McGee’, that he got for Christmas from Melyssa and Steven, One of his most favorite!
Catherine Peavey Mail day in M.C.
Katrina Peavey
