Steven Paul Emil Kiehne

Age 57 of Rush City. Loving Husband, Dad, Papa, Son & Brother, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on March 25, 2021 after a battle with cancer. Steve was born in Rochester, MN on July 10, 1963 to parents Ron and Gisela. He was the youngest of 3 after brothers Scott and Randy. Steve’s early years with his family were spent on a farm in Chatfield, MN. In 1971, Steve’s parents separated, then Steve moved with his mother and 2 brothers to Rochester, MN. A few years later in 1973 Steve and his family with Stepfather John Young moved to the North St. Paul & Maplewood area. Around the same time Steve’s father remarried to Betty Kiehne. Betty had 4 children to add to their new blended family; Jane, Sue, John and Barb Garbisch. Ron and Betty also had a child together, Marsha Kiehne, in 1974. With that addition there were now a total of 8 siblings. During his school years, Steve enjoyed playing baseball & hockey with his brothers at the local rink and played on several teams. Steve attended Hazelwood Elementary, John Glenn & Hillside Jr. High and Tartan High School. Late in 1979, Steve’s family moved to South St. Paul where he completed his final 2 years of high school with his brother Randy. After graduating from high school, Steve attended some community college classes, but also found he enjoyed working on cars. He discovered he was really good at it and decided to become an auto mechanic. Through the 80’s and early 90’s he worked at a few different shops, spending several years working and managing Midas shops in the West St. Paul area. In 1996 he met his wife Lauree. Their love for life and for each other was apparent from early on and that spark continued through all their years together. He was a loving husband and her knight in shining armor, her Hero. Steve welcomed Lauree’s sons Josh and Jared into their family and from that point on he referred to them as his own sons. Then in 1998 they had a daughter, Alyssa, to complete their family. In 1997 Steve started working for Car-X in Forest Lake. He became the manager and went on to own this location as well as another in Duluth, MN. He really felt at home in this area and so in 2001, Steve, Lauree, Alyssa, Josh, Jared and Lauree’s father Leroy all moved to a new home they built on Rush Lake in Rush City. Steve also got his son Josh into the mechanics life and they worked side by side together for many years. After several years at Car X Steve decided to start his own independent auto repair shop and continued to do business in the Forest Lake area until he retired this past summer. Many of his customers followed him to his new business and became good friends over the years. Steve gained their respect and loyalty with his skill and big heart. He helped so many people with their car repairs, going out of his way to make sure they could keep their cars on the road, sometimes charging much less than what other repair shops would. When Steve wasn’t working on cars for work, he was working on them for fun. He enjoyed both racing and restoring classic muscle cars. In the late 80’s and 90’s, he raced several circle tracks, Elko Speedway, Sauke Rapids, and La Crosse Raceway. You would often find both his son Josh and his brothers being put to work in the race pits. Of all the classics, the 1964 GTO was Steve’s favorite and he always owned one in some stage of restoration, showing it off at car shows when complete. The first GTO he restored in the late 80’s he took on a road trip through Montana, Canada and back! Other passions of his were hunting & fishing. Going deer hunting at the family cabin near Silver Bay, MN with his grandfather, father, brothers, wife, and friends brought him great joy. Steve also took Jared and Alyssa there for their first hunt, but first making sure they were prepared with gun safety training. Steve’s father and brothers (with a few friends in tow) would also go for hunting trips to Montana to hunt deer and elk. They enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery so much the group starting taking snowmobile trips to places like Cooke City, Montana and Togwotee, Wyoming. These were some great times together where they made great memories riding in deep powder snow. Steve liked more than just the cold and snow, he also liked to travel to warm destinations and took several trips with his wife and family. Some of their favorite places were Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean. However, most often, if Steve wasn’t working or in the garage, you’d most likely find him out on the lake fishing, especially with his wife Lauree when after they moved to Rush Lake. Along with fishing, camping was another past time Steve enjoyed. All his siblings, nieces, nephews and other extended family would camp on the family farm together every summer. Steve and Lauree also loved to camp and fish the Rainy Lake islands in Canada. They loved it so much in 2004 they decided to purchase a 2nd home there. This 2nd home was always open to both family & friends in the summer or winter for hosting fishing trips, snowmobiling, or just relaxing. Not to mention the fishing wars with his daughter Alyssa, who happens to have the biggest fish on the wall. Alyssa won the walleye catch, but Steve won the crappie catch. They enjoyed many good times there and Steve caught a lot of nice fish! Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, the Canadian border has been closed and he never got to go back up to his happy place during his last year. Steve was a great man and touched so many lives. He was often called “McGyver” because he could fix anything and make it work no matter what he had on hand! He worked hard all his life and was always there to help and take care of his family at a drop of the hat. He loved his wife & kids very much and there is no way to ever replace him. He has done so much for so many, that we will forever miss him!! GOD AQUIRED AN ANGEL!!! WE WILL SEE YOU AGAIN SOMEDAY!!! Preceded in death by father, Ronald; step-mother, Betty; step-father, Walter Zimmer. Survived by loving wife of 22 years, Lauree; children, Josh (Laura) Letourneau, Jared (Megan) Brynjolf, Alyssa; grandchildren, Wyat, Westen, Eleanor; mother, Gisela Zimmer (Joe); step-father, John Young; siblings, Scott, Randy (Margaret), Marsha (Rob) Shugrue, Jane (Mike) Myers, Sue (Eric) Torgerson, Barb (Tom) Schramm, John (Mary) Garbisch; many nieces, nephews, other relatives & friends. A celebration of Steve’s life, 6 PM Friday, April 2nd with visitation one hour prior at Roberts Family Funeral Home, Forest Lake. The service will be livestreamed here: https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/authorise.php?k=1617401021108879