Stephen McCann

Stephen E. McCann, 70, of Creston, passed away Wednesday, April 22, 2020, after a long, courageous battle with cancer. A private celebration of life Mass will be held 1 p.m. Monday, April 27, 2020, at Pearson Family Funeral Service & Cremation Center, 809 W. Montgomery Street in Creston. Father Adam Westphal will be celebrant. Private burial will be at Calvary Cemetery, west of Creston. The family invites attendees to gather in their vehicles in the Southwestern Community College parking lot to view and listen to a livestream of the Mass and burial service on a large LED video screen. If you are unable to attend, you can view the Mass and burial online at http://www.citylinktv.com/channel/creston-ksib-radio/.

A public viewing will be 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, April 26 at Pearson Family Funeral Service & Cremation Center in Creston. The family will not be present due to COVID-19 social gathering restrictions. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Malachy School; Creston Dollars for Scholars; or the Southwestern Community College Scholarship Fund. Memories and condolences may be left online at www.pearsonfuneralhomes.com.

Steve, known by many as “Magic,” was born June 12, 1949, to Eugene and Agnes McCann in Creston. He grew up on the family farm east of town and graduated from Creston High School in 1967, where he was later inducted into the CHS Hall of Fame. He earned an A.A. degree from Southwestern Community College before earning a B.S. degree from Creighton University in 1971.

After graduation, Steve returned to Creston and was employed as Adult Education Coordinator at Southwestern Community College for nine years. This was also when Steve began officiating high school sports — basketball, football, baseball, and softball. All told, he officiated for 49 years across Southwest Iowa and worked a multitude of state tournament games, including sixteen state championship games. In 2012, he was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Officials Hall of Fame, and in 2019, he was inducted into the Iowa Girls’ Coaches Association Softball Umpires Hall of Fame.

After his father Gene died in 1980, Steve left his position at Southwestern to operate the McCann family farm for the next nine years. In 1989, after enduring the farm crisis, Steve made his final career move purchasing Family Shoe Store in downtown Creston. It did not take long for him to hit his stride in this business venture and become known to many as “Doctor Shoe.” Steve worked at the shoe store until he was no longer physically able to do so — he loved the routine and semblance of normalcy it provided as he underwent cancer treatments, but mostly he loved interacting with his friends and customers.

Steve never met a stranger and without ever owning a cell phone or having a social media account, he counted many as friends — real, old-fashioned friendships — until the very end.

A number of those cherished friendships were forged at Creston Elks Lodge No. 605, where Steve served in various fraternal leadership positions including a term as Exalted Ruler. He was especially active in the Elks scholarship fund, Elks track meet, Elks hoop shoot, and Elks Clowns.

Steve was a life-long member of Holy Spirit Parish where he often served as a lector and eucharistic minister. Holy Spirit Church is also where Steve married his wife, Jane, in 1975, and together they raised three children: Kyle, Kristen, and Kari. His children were a genuine source of pride and joy for him, and he adored being able to watch them participate in their various sports and extracurricular activities. He and Jane logged more than a few miles over the years to do so.

That source of pride only blossomed further over recent years as the family has continued to grow with the addition of each new grandchild — seven in total.

Survivors include his wife Jane McCann of Creston; son Kyle (Maggie) McCann of Urbandale; daughters: Kristen (Justin) Theisen of Indianola and Kari (Jeramy) Boutell of Dubuque; grandchildren: Sadie McCann, Harrison Theisen, Grace McCann, Hudson Theisen, Claire McCann, Reese Theisen, and Olive Boutell; sister Mary McCann of Germantown, Maryland; brother Tom McCann of Creston; sister-in-law Karen Struble of Creston; brother-in-law Rick Harrell of Afton; cousins, nieces, nephews, and many friends.

Steve was preceded in death by his grandparents Cornelius “Neal” and Mary McCann and Eugene “Mac” and Marguerite McEniry; parents Eugene and Agnes McCann; parents-in-law Robert and Ruth Harrell; and brother-in-law, Dennis Struble.