EVERYDAY HEROES Steve Kappas: A True Red Devil
Steve Kappas, age 67, and lifelong resident of the Springville/Mapleton area, passed away while watching the Art City Days Parade on Saturday, June 8, 2019, with his family and his wife of 46 years, Julie.
However, there couldn’t have been a more fitting passing on for this man. He was doing his favorite thing, something he’d done his entire adult life: supporting the city of Springville with his loved ones.
One of his greatest joys was creating Red Devil apparel and seeing people wearing it with pride. He and Julie ran a booth selling Red Devil clothing at Art City Days for nearly twenty years. A Facebook post from Springville City says: “Chances are, if you have a Red Devil tee shirt, it came from Steve and Julie.”
Kappas had served as a member of the SHS Alumni Association for fifteen years, most recently as president.
A particular interest Kappas had in working with the Alumni Association was pouring over the scholarship applications that come in every year. As explained in an article about Kappas in the Herald Extra, he’d notice candidates others might have disregarded, making sure those who needed the support the most, got it.
Kappas also served on the Springville Parks and Recreation volunteer board. He started out his working life in construction and racecar driving, but eventually worked for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union. It was there that he got to spend time on movie sets and rub shoulders with celebrities.
Even though his passion was all things Springville, nothing made Kappas happier than his family. According to his daughter-in-law, he and Julie were “soulmates who did everything together.” The Kappas family has four children and eleven grandchildren. Funeral services were held on June 15.
A GoFundMe account was set up in his name at https://www.gofundme.com/f/ steve-kappas-memorial.