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Page 34 Shelton-Mason County Journal .- Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023
Dhitaries
Stephen Emory Knutzen, 74,
a longtime Kennewick resident
passed away on January 8th, 2023.
He was born on February 19, 1948,
in Shelton, Washington. After
graduating high school in 1966, he
enlisted in the Army and bravely
served our country in the Vietnam
War. '
Steve’s older brother Charlie
convinced him to move to the Tri-
Cities area after returning from
Vietnam. Heheld various jobs until
his cousin, Mike Dronen, convinced
him to give meatpacking a try. While working at the Cudahy meat plant
(now Tyson), Steve met a young receptionist named Leigh Ann Unruh.
They were married on April 13, 1974, and settled on a small farm in
Finley, right next door to Leigh Ann’s parents, Irvin and Marie. It was
there that Irvin taught Steve how to raise animals and the art of farm-
ing. Steve named his farm the “Barely Break Even Ranch”, fashioning a
sign at the entrance of their driveway. Steve and Leigh Ann welcomed
their oldest son Paul in 1977, Caleb nineteen months later in 1978, and
Gabriel in 1985. Before his own boys were old“ enough to help'with
the
farm work, Steve’s nephews would volunteer to spend their summers to
help “Uncle Steve” on the farm (Brian, Mike and Bruce). He was a proud
father of his three sons. He instilled in them the value of hard work,
demonstrating every day what it takes to work on a farm, hold down
a regular job, and make and take time to celebrate family and create
memories.
In 1974, Steve customized a mobile butcher truck and started Knut-
zen’s Kustom Kill. Following persistent urging by his butchering custom-
ers, he transitioned the business into a full custom meat shop in 1983.
Knutzen’s Kustom Kill and Kutting was initially located on Dent Road
in Pasco before moving to downtown Pasco (on Columbia Street) for a
couple of years and then, in 1987, to its current location on Court Street
and ROad 64. In 2002, Steve added retail meat sales and slowly grew
the business into Knutzen’s Meats. He eventually retired from mobile
butchering but‘con'tinued to serve fine quality meats to the
community.
A true family business, Steve taught his kids, as well as numerous neph-
Stephen Emory Knutsen
.. i..
..
.c.
. o '
.q
a
I. v
various aspects of the business. He
was still working with his son, Ca-
leb, when he passed.
Steve enjoyed nature, but fore—
most, one particular part of na-
ture, the golf course. You’d recog-
nize Steve by his beard, bare feet
and Hawaiian shirt. If you were
lucky enough to golf in a scrambler
with him, Steve would always hit
first because he’d always put the
ball right “down the middle” and
give everyone else an opportunity
to crush it. His skill in this game
led to seven holes-in-one over the years. That’s a lot of drinks for the
entire clubhouse afterwards! He was a proud member of, Canyon Lakes
Golf Course'and while not all his sons’ shared the same level of
passion
as strongly for golf, “Uncle Steve” loved golfing with his nephews
that
also loved to play. p I ,
Steve could make a friend of anyone, and no one he met was a strang-
er for long. He’d stop what he was doing at his meat shop to visit with
old
friends that came in looking to say hello, even though he had work to do.
Every year he supported Columbia Basin 4-H and FFA kids by buying
' their animals at the Benton Franklin Fair Market Stock Sale. A little
known fact—Steve was an early adopter of the cell phone. And while he’d
been in possession of a cell phone since the mid 80’s, it’s ironic that
no
one who knew him could ever reach him on it.
He is preceded in death by his parents Warren and Florence and his
brothers William, Charles, and sister Christine. Steve is survived by his
. wife Leigh Ann; children Paul (Jody), Caleb (Cheyanne), Gabriel; and
grandchildren Brendan, Kyler, Ryan, and Zephyr; younger twin sister
Rosemary (Niels); older brother David (Cindy); and many beloved nieces
and nephews. N, p
’ A service for Steve’s‘Tamily and close friends will be held at 2:00
p.m.,
Friday, January 20, 2023, at Mueller’s Funeral Home, 1401 S Union
Street, Kennewick WA 99338. . 'V
A celebration of his life for ALL who knew Steve will be held at Canyon
Lakes Golf Course, 3700 Canyon Lakes Drive, Kennewick, WA 99337’at
5:00 pm. that evening. Please bring your memories of Steve to share
with our family and friends.
ews& nieces (Tom, Stacey, Lisa, Katie, James and grandson Brendan)