December 25, 1968 – July 22, 2022

Our dear Steve, age 53, passed away into his heavenly home on July 22, 2022, following a challenging journey with post-transplant lymphoma. After persevering with courage and steadfastness along with his trademark sense of humor through health difficulties beginning in his youth, he has now been fully healed and is at home with his Savior. Steve’s Christian faith was foundational to the way he lived his life.

Steve was born in 1968 in Iowa City, Iowa to Roy and Judy Campen. He lived in many places throughout the Midwest with his parents and younger brother, Dave, as he grew up. He considered both Iowa and Minnesota to be his “hometowns.” In 1987, Steve graduated from Minneapolis Lutheran High School, where he formed lifelong friendships and was actively involved in choir, band, theater, football, and baseball.

Early in his life, Steve developed a passion for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes.  Some of his favorite childhood memories were of tailgating and attending football games at Kinnick Stadium with his family and friends. Attending the University of Iowa was the fulfillment of a dream for Steve, and he graduated in 1993 with a degree in Political Science. His passion for his Hawks was evident to all who knew him! Steve was a lifelong learner, always researching and analyzing with his lens of critical thinking. He was blessed to meet many friends at Iowa who remained important to him throughout his lifetime.

After graduation, Steve went on to develop a career in sales. He spent the majority of his career, 18 years, at Ziegler in Shakopee, Minnesota, where he was a Senior Sales Engineer. Integrity was a core value for Steve, and he valued the relationships he was able to build through the years with his customers in the upper Midwest. He loved being able to support his customers’ businesses to help them succeed.

Family was Steve’s priority. Steve and his wife, Kim, married in November 1999. They welcomed daughter Alyssa in 2001 and son Nathaniel in 2003, living as a family in Savage, Farmington, and Rosemount, Minnesota. Steve loved sharing his passions with his family, including his Hawks, Iowa City, the Minnesota Twins, golf, and automobiles. He especially loved cheering on Alyssa and Nathaniel through their academic, musical, and athletic pursuits. He enjoyed traveling and spending time with his extended family.

Steve often talked about how he had been given the Gift of Life many times throughout his lifetime: through his physical birth, through the donation of his father’s transplanted kidney in 1996, through the survival of a car accident in which he learned of his epilepsy, and through another kidney transplant in 2019 as a gift from his brother-in-law, Brent. He treasured and valued each of those precious gifts and was an advocate for both organ donation and research in the area of kidney disease. When he was diagnosed with post-transplant lymphoma in January 2022, he said, “Either way, I win.” He knew that he would continue to live, whether on Earth or in Heaven.

Steve was preceded in death by his grandparents, George & Lena Campen and Charles & Ruth Hoffman; father-in-law, Thomas Harrold; and sister-in-law, Lisa Campen. He is survived by his loving wife of 22 years, Kimberly; daughter, Alyssa; son, Nathaniel; parents, LeRoy & Judy Campen; brother, David (Marci) Campen; mother-in-law, Marilyn Harrold; brother-in-law, Brent (Stacey) Harrold; a nephew, nieces, aunts, uncles, and many close friends and extended family members.

Steve’s Memorial Service and Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 28, 2022 at Woodbury Lutheran Church, 7380 Afton Rd., Woodbury, MN and can be live streamed https://youtu.be/AmbbyQkCd8E. Visitation will be held from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. prior to the service at the church. A luncheon will be served immediately following the service. Interment will follow at Union Cemetery in Maplewood, MN for family and close friends.

Memorials are preferred to the National Kidney Foundation or Feed My Starving Children, organizations which held a special place in Steve’s heart.