Stephen Waldock

Stephen P. (Steve) Waldock passed away April 30th, 2020 at the age of 71.  After battling failing health for several months he died peacefully at Shepherd of the Valley Care Center in Casper, Wyoming.

Steve was born on July 1st, 1948 in Parshall, North Dakota to Benedict and Jane (Gould) Waldock .  He was the only child of 8 siblings to be born at a midwife’s house instead of the hospital.  Steve spent his childhood at the family homestead outside of Parshall and graduated in 1966 from Parshall High School.

After spending a year deciding what he wanted to do with his life, Steve enlisted in the U.S. Army on May 4th, 1967.  He spent 3 years in active duty, during which time he did 2 tours in Vietnam.  Steve was trained as a helicopter mechanic before going overseas and spent much of his time in Vietnam flying in helicopters.  When he returned from his deployments he had earned several medals.  He received an honorable discharge on June 18th, 1970.

As a young man Steve learned to work hard and take on any available job to support himself.  His jobs included rig hand, the highway crew that built Highway 85 in South Dakota (he was even bit by a rattlesnake during that time!), police officer in Parshall (where he was shot in the back), farm hand, and many other jobs before he settled down in Glenrock, Wyoming and went to work at Glenrock Coal Mine.

In 1983, Steve married Lori Scheehle and they had 2 children, Jacque and Jason.  They raised their children together in Glenrock until 1989, when they were divorced.

Steve met his soulmate, Claudia Gurney, and they were married in 1996.  With this union Steve gained two bonus sons, Casey and Cody Rankin.  The couple and their children lived in Casper, Wyoming until Steve retired early from Glenrock Coal Mine in 1999.  After his retirement, Steve and Claudia moved back to his hometown of Parshall and bought their own homestead outside of town, just 1 mile from his childhood home.  After spending a short time fixing up their home, Steve decided he wasn’t ready to retire so he went to work for the Plaza Cenex in 2000.  Claudia passed away in 2001 and Steve continued to run the homestead until he became sick in December of 2019.

Steve worked for the Cenex stores in the area until early 2019, when he decided it was really time to retire.  During his years in Parshall he also did some ranching, raising a small herd of cows that liked to see if they could run him over!

As anyone who knows Steve will tell you, he never met a stranger. He was well known for his love of telling stories, true or not, and his favorite pastime was picking on those he knew best.  He could fix almost anything so he often had small project vehicles and equipment parked in his shop.  He was extremely proud of his homestead and could often be found mowing the lawn to perfection or taking care of the many trees he had planted.  Though he was very good at giving those he loved a lot of grief, he would have given the shirt off his back to help anyone in need.

Steve was extremely proud of all of his children and once his grandchildren were born they were the light of his life.  He doted on them and spoiled them every time he saw them!

Steve is celebrating in Heaven with his parents, his wife, and his older brother, Mike.

He is survived by his children, Jacque (Will) Stoldt, Jason (Ashley) Waldock, Cody (Samantha) Rankin, and Casey Rankin; grandchildren Ella and Sawyer Stoldt, Karch, Shelby, Kimber, and Bentley Waldock, Emma and Claire Rankin; 3 brothers, Tom (Joyce) Waldock, Andy (Dona) Waldock, and Joe Waldock; 3 sisters, Judy (Kenny) Chapman, Ann (Leon) Mallberg, and Mary (Reede) Benning; sister-in-law Karan Waldock; numerous nieces and nephews and many, many friends who he considered family.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Shepherd of the Valley Care Center in Casper, Wyoming.

Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Bustard & Jacoby Funeral Home, 600 CY Avenue, Casper, WY 82601.