Steven Clay Unruh, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, teacher, neighbor, and friend, passed away peacefully at his home on September 28, 2026.

Steve was born March 1, 1950, in Scott City, Kansas, to Eldred Clay and Norma Dea Turpin Unruh. As the son of a Navy family, Steve spent much of his childhood moving from base to base, including time in Spain. In 1967, during his senior year of high school, his father retired from the Navy and moved the family to Mt. Judea, Arkansas. After years of moving, Steve and his siblings were thrilled to finally put down roots on a farm in the Ozarks. That sense of having found home mattered deeply to Steve, and he would spend much of his life investing himself in the community he found there.

After high school, Steve followed his father into the Navy and served during the Vietnam era as a yeoman stationed in the Philippines. Afterward, he picked fruit, worked as a park ranger on the Buffalo River, and eventually found the career through which he would influence generations of young people: teaching.

Steve taught at Mt. Judea School for 24 years, teaching English, speech, drama, gifted and talented students, and the alternative program. More important than the subjects he taught were the relationships he built with his students. He encouraged their talents, challenged them, and made room for young people who did not always fit neatly into the expected mold. Those relationships became one of the great legacies of his life.

Steve's commitment to his community extended beyond the school. In the 1990s, he helped establish the local water department to bring public water service to families throughout the area. He also helped found the local volunteer fire department and first responder program. For twenty years he responded to calls throughout the community helping friends and neighbors in need.

Steve married Kathy Becker on June 3, 1978. Together they raised two children, Justin and Stephanie, and built a life filled with family, community, farm projects, animals, stories, and adventures.

Extended family was at the center of Steve's life. The Unruh family gathered constantly for meals and games. Fiercely competitive, they played endless games of spades and pinochle, horseshoes, and held family reunions where nearly anything could become a competition worthy of a pocket-change wager- even which bug would cross a line first or who could spit a watermelon seed the farthest.

Steve felt things deeply and rarely hid it. He could be wonderfully dramatic, and was a charming story-teller. Anyone who watched him accept an award or give a meaningful speech knew there was a good chance he would tear up before he finished. His generosity was equally wholehearted. He believed that if you were able to help someone, you helped them. He would quite literally give someone the shirt off his back, (whether or not they needed a shirt).

In retirement, Steve and Kathy moved to Mississippi to be closer to their son and his family. True to form, Steve found another community there, enjoying his neighbors on the lake and many happy hours visiting and driving around the neighborhood in his golf cart.

Steve was adventurous, creative, stubborn, generous, emotional, and deeply engaged with the people and world around him. The Navy brat who had once longed for a place to put down roots spent the rest of his life doing exactly that: finding community, investing himself in it, and leaving it stronger and more connected than he found it.

Steve is survived by his wife, Kathy Becker Unruh; son Justin Unruh and wife Leigh Taylor, and their sons Evan and Myles; daughter Stephanie Johnston and husband Corey, and their daughters Hazel and Isabelle; brothers Mark and Brian Unruh; sister Debbie Cooper; and many beloved nieces, nephews, former students, neighbors, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brother David Unruh; and sister Sharon Pierce.

Visitation will be from 2:00–4:00 p.m. Sunday, October 4, at Coffman Funeral Home in Jasper. Funeral services will be at 2:00 p.m. Monday, October 5, at Newton County Baptist Church in Piercetown, Mark Unruh and Tim Cooper will officiate. Burial will be at McCutcheon Cemetery in Bass. A reception will follow at Steve and Kathy's old home on Cave Creek. All are welcome to gather, share stories, and celebrate Steve's life.