5/8/1952 – 1/13/2019
Steven George Blank was born May 8, 1952, the first of three children of George and Margaret (Schmidt) Blank, in Norfolk, Nebraska. Steven attended elementary school at Saint John’s Lutheran School Green Garden and graduated from Madison High School in 1970.
At age 17, Steven was severely injured in a motorcycle accident which left him partially paralyzed. Yet he was able to attend Concordia Teachers College in Seward, Nebraska, graduating in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. His first teaching assignment was in a one-room Lutheran schoolhouse near Kramer, Nebraska and then at District 38 Miller School near North Platte. He then switched careers for a time and worked as a bookkeeper for Mid-States Irrigation Company in North Platte.
At age 34, Steven moved to Southern California where he spent five years as an elementary school teacher in several schools in the Los Angeles area. He spent his summer breaks back in Nebraska working with his dad and brother on the farm. Then in 1991 he decided to return to Nebraska to pursue a Special Education Endorsement at Kearney State College.
Steven married Sandy Curtis (Ernesti) on January 30, 1993 in Grand Island, Nebraska. They lived on a small acreage north of Grand Island for five years where Steven worked as a partner in a telecommunications company. He volunteered with Habitat for Humanity where he helped build homes and also served as a board member. He was very active in his church’s fundraising and building projects.
In 2002, Steven, Sandy and his step-daughter, Jessica, moved to Southern California so Sandy could complete her doctoral degree. He spent the next fifteen years working as an accounting associate at NALEO Educational Fund, a nonprofit Latino political advocacy organization in Los Angeles, until he was diagnosed with late-stage cancer in September 2017.
Steven is survived by his wife of 25 years Sandy of Rancho Cucamonga, CA, step-daughter Jessica (Paul) Simental of Omaha, NE, grandson Michael Simental of Omaha, NE, brother Darwin (Karen) Blank of Madison, NE, sister Susan (Rory) Swim of Springview, NE, niece Kadie (Chuck) Kruger of Crookston, NE, nephew Dr. Eric Blank of Omaha, NE, and niece Karissa Blank of Madison, NE.
He was preceded in death by his parents George and Margaret Blank.
Steven requested that memorials be made to World Vision.
Services are pending at this time.
