Steve Mahan

Stephen “Steve” Mahan, 65 of Lynn Haven, FL passed away suddenly of a heart attack on Tuesday July 28, 2020. A devoted husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, uncle and friend, Steve was a man of many hobbies, interests, and talents and had a lifelong affinity for both learning and teaching. Born and raised in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Steve attended the University of Pittsburgh where he attained bachelor’s degrees in both engineering and biology and a master’s degree in electrical engineering.
Upon completing his master’s degree in 1983, Steve took a life changing whitewater rafting trip where he would meet the love of his life, his cherished wife Kathy. Steve found in Kathy a fellow adventurer, lifelong “partner in crime” and best friend. Steve and Kathy quickly realized they were meant to be together and were wed a year later. Shortly after marrying Kathy, Steve was able to fulfill a lifelong dream and was allowed, generously by Kathy, to ride across the U.S. solely on his bicycle. After returning from his trip Steve was hired at the Navy Base where he would work as an electrical engineer for 35 years. Together with Kathy, Steve moved to Panama City and quickly became involved in the community while starting a family. A proud father of daughters Sarah and Kelsey, Steve found through coaching their teams an enthusiasm for the sport of soccer and a love of refereeing. Steve immersed himself in the rules of the game and helped to further the sport locally by becoming certified to train not just new referees, but to train the referee instructors as well.
Steve’s passion for teaching was by no means limited to refereeing; in fact, it was impossible to spend much time around Steve and not learn something new. A lifetime NRA member, Steve was a certified NRA instructor and advocate for safe and responsible gun ownership. Steve believed in doing things the correct way, so before starting anything he would research the best way to perform the task. Over the years, Steve developed expertise and accumulated the necessary tools to work on any and everything. Whether it was cars and engines (especially his favored Hondas), bicycles (he was a certified NASHBAR bike mechanic), computers and routers (his neighbors often leaned on his IT expertise), to all sorts of other home repair and installation projects, Steve was a willing and enthusiastic source of assistance for friends and family alike. You could not leave a project with Steve knowing less than when you started, even if you tried. His most recent passion was a 400 sq. ft. aluminum shed he was converting by hand into a fully wired, insulated, and stocked workshop. Steve also was looking forward to traveling the country with Kathy in their 45 ft. Wanderlodge coach, affectionately referred to as “The Bus”. Steve was excited to describe its features in detail to any willing, or occasionally merely captive, listener he could.
From a brief dalliance with the Air Force Academy, yearly trips to Iowa to ride in the RAGBRAI bicycle festival, and gaining Navy diver certification as a civilian, to hand loading his own ammunition and playfully terrorizing his grandchildren with “raspberries”, Steve lived a full life. Though he will be dearly missed, his love, lessons, and legacy will live on. He is survived by his beloved wife Kathy Mahan; daughters Sarah (Bobby) Richardson and Kelsey Mahan; grandchildren Cora, Laurel, Cillian, and Margot Richardson; father John (Char) Mahan; sister Lori (Jeff) Riley, step-sisters Holli (Oscar) Smith and Val Bring; step-brother Rick (Shana) Buzard, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his mother Doris Hopkins and stepfather Clyde Hopkins.
Remembrance services will be held on Sunday, August 2nd at Kent Forest Funeral Home. Public services will consist of an open viewing between 12:00 and 2:00 P.M. The family requests that all attendees wear facial coverings and maintain 6ft social distance between households. Immediately following the viewing there will be memorial service that is limited to family only due to crowd restrictions from Covid-19. The family encourages all those who are unable to attend in person to please attend services via live stream at 2 pm CST. A link to view the service will be available on the Kent Forest Funeral Home website.

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