Eulogy
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A Reflection Of Life

 

Thomas W. Steipp

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In 2025, my good friend Tom Steipp died following a long fight against cancer and I was honored to be asked to be one of those selected to honor this good man's legacy. Tom and I had been the closest of friends for over 40 years and even in the difficulty of facing the grief that is part of the aftermath of losing a close friend, I counted it a privilege to be able to share with those present my sense of this great man.

Tom and I served on a board together. The first piece I will share here is the email that I sent to our fellow board members (Medical Ambassadors International) informing them of his death.

The second piece shared below is the text of the eulogy delivered at Los Gatos Christian Church to family and friends.

This was a man dearly loved by many!

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Dear Friends,

Yesterday evening our dear brother and friend Tom Steipp breathed his last and crossed over into the presence of the Lord of all. This passing through the great divide from life to death occurred peacefully, with Tom surrounded by his loving family and closest friends, as prayer, hymns, and holy tears joined the heavenly chorus that accompanied Tom on his journey. For Tom a new beginning the other side of eternity; for us our love for Tom the bridge across that blessed veil.

Tom's last week was marked by a steady gradual decline in physical condition even as his spiritual condition remained strong. Family and the closest of friends were at his bedside throughout and were privileged to witness a steady flow of young men or young couples who came for a final visit, to say goodbye and to thank Tom for his Godly wisdom, encouragement, mentoring, and friendship, as he always pointed them toward faith in Jesus. We realized that these expressions of honest and humble gratitude were representative of literally hundreds impacted by this Godly man. One young man flew in to be able to get ten minutes with Tom, thanking him for "changing the trajectory of my life." Many times we heard the words "you were like a father to me." There were many tears in the midst of much rejoicing in remembering the life of this man.

Tom's professional resume is of course quite impressive - Air Force Academy graduate, Air Force pilot, a graduate degree from Purdue, a long business executive leadership run ending in serving as CEO and President - but it is his character resume that will be his legacy. He came to saving faith in Jesus at age 30 and realized that the calling on his life was to mentor and lead others toward what one might call "flourishing." To him this would include understanding the importance of faith in the higher power of the living God, being a person of strong character, being a lifelong learner, and taking an active rather than passive approach to life. This was poured out to all he came in contact with, whether in the workplace, with those he met in the community, or most importantly with his children and grandchildren. These beloved family members - his children and grandchildren - remained always the light of his life and brought him much joy in all respects. He devoted time, energy, and prayer onto each one, and was so very proud to be their father and grandfather.

Tom's life is worth celebrating. He cast joy and hope and vision wherever he went. His service to others through individual mentoring, friendships, board work, Bible studies, and a host of other ways God used him will be greatly missed. Tom has now gone to his well deserved heavenly reward - our love a small bridge - and we are reminded of the verse from the Apostle Paul's pen, "We do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope." Yes, we grieve, we honestly and openly grieve, but not without the hope of the great reunion that awaits.

Steve Belton
17 February 2025

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Eulogy
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Tom Steipp

As I Knew Him

Someone very wise and a long time ago said, One of the greatest luxuries a man can have is a true friend.

Tom Steipp was for me that friend.

Deb, to you and to your whole family, I join with these many others in missing Tom already, and I cherish the memories of a great and godly man, a dear friend. And you Deb—you are a living testimony to the life of faith that you and Tom shared, that you and Tom lived, so well expressed by the Apostle Paul: God's grace is sufficient. And that is exactly the message Tom would want preached today: God&339;s grace is sufficient.

I first met Tom at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto 42 years ago. We struck up a conversation, found that we had much in common, and our two families were off and running, becoming fast friends in a friendship that was to last all these past 42 years. At the beginning of our friendship, Tom and I were baby Christians and young marrieds and new dads, and together as the decades passed we learned much about faith and life and how to be better husbands and better dads, and eventually about being granddads. It was the proverbial Iron sharpens iron&38212;although in truth it was more like Tom sharpens Stevecfor I learned much through the years of walking alongside Tom—in our families, on boards, in men's groups and Bible studies, and in our travels.

The Tom I knew was a man devoted to his family and to God, who desired more than anything to see people around him grow in faith, and to flourish in the ways God had uniquely gifted them. He was relentless in his desire to network with people and to gather people, to encourage and to connect people, and to help them achieve and experience the joy and peace that he knew was theirs for the asking. Tom was smart, an avid reader and learner, always a learner, and a student of leadership principles and history and science and faith issues. He loved learning, and he had a brilliant way about him in leading others to an answer. He did not waste time. Car rides were for listening to podcasts; meals were for meaningful conversation; trips, whether for vacation or hunting or fishing, were for deepening relationships; moments together were for exploration of life and eternal things.

Like Hub McCann in Secondhand Lions, Tom had thoughts based on his own life experiences about the things that are the mark of a man of substance. He had several versions of a speech, and the one I particularly liked spoke of the four pillars upon which to build a successful life:
1) we must know that the God of the Bible exists and that He loves us;
2) we must be men of good character and walk with integrity;
3) we must be lifelong learners; and
4) we must know the value of hard work and then act on it.

In these last years—after his cancer diagnosis—he and I talked many times about faith, mortality, God's will, God being in control, and death. Tom did not fear death, for he knew with a rock-solid faith the truth of God's word—that his life was in God's hand and that Deb and Michelle and Chris and all his whole family, each one, was also safely walking in God's care.

I was honored to be with Tom during the last week of his life, and what I saw that week was a testament to all that Tom held dear. That last week of Tom's life, as he approached his eternal rest, I saw a steady procession of young men and couples—coming to be with him one last time. They came from near and far to be able to say to this man that they had come to love and respect, Thank you,
You changed the trajectory of my life,
You were like a father to me,
You led me to a deeper faith,
You modeled the Christian man for me.

One by one, they came to honor this man that had poured so much into them.

One of the couples that visited the hospital that week sang a hymn over Tom: Be Still My Soul. It ends with this thought:

Be still, my soul: the hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Tom, to you my dear friend, I bid you a loving farewell.
Until we meet at last again, my friend, my true friend.

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