Steven Joseph Courtney died of natural causes in his home on June 26 in Chicago. He had just turned 59 in May.
Steve was born on May 8, 1960, in Dekalb, Illinois, and graduated from Dekalb High School in 1979.
Steve loved Chicago and made his way into the city soon thereafter. His first foray into working in Chicago's gay business community was at RJ's Video and then Ragin' RaeJean's gift shop on Halsted Street in the 1990s. Steve's began his career in bar employment at the Cell Block and then at Circuit Nightclub. For the past several years, he served as a bartender at Touché in Rogers Park.
Steven's passions were gardening and the Chicago Cubsnot necessarily in that order. He attended countless games at Wrigley Field and followed the team passionately. One of his proudest moments was having his photo taken with the World Series championship trophy the Chicago Cubs had won in 2016.
Off-duty from the bar, Steve loved to tend his plants both indoors and out. As was evident in his physique, Steve was also an ardent bodybuilder. Any injury to keep him from the gym was a grave inconvenience.
His years working behind bars in Chicago's gay nightlife scene allowed him to befriend and touch many lives over the years. His smile and humor made him an instant friend to manyespecially if they were Cubs fans, too. With any drink served, he would offer a quick joke, how the Cubs latest game went down or comment on the day's latest news. There was no doubt that he was no fan of our current President.
Steve was preceded in death by his parents, Richard and Toinette Courtney. He is survived by his brother Richard; sisters and brothers-in-law Valerie and Tim Pierone, Mary and David Todmen, and Nancy and Jim Schmidt; his twin sister, Stephanie Govig; and a number of nieces, nephews and cousins.
A celebration of Steve's life will be held for his family and friends at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 14, at Touché, 6412 N. Clark St. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Steve's life. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name to the Groceryland Pantry or TPAN ( Test Positive Aware Network ) are encouraged.