Steve Petkoff

Steve Petkoff, former resident of Cleveland, Oklahoma, died on February 3 in Odessa, Missouri at the age of ninety-one. He was born January 21, 1920 in Hobart, Oklahoma where he graduated from high school in 1939. He was the son of George Petkoff, Sr. and Rose Ratkoff Petkoff. In 1941, he married Mary Magdeline George in Helena, Arkansas. Steve was a member of the greatest generation, enlisting in the United States Army and serving during World War II. During the war, he fought for his country in Italy and France and took part in the historic Battle of the Bulge. After the war, he joined the firm of Rinehart and Donovan and worked constructing power lines for the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). In 1951, he went to work for KAMO Electric in Neosho, Missouri and then was transferred to El Dorado Springs, Missouri. Steve was promoted to superintendent of operations for KAMO in Cleveland, Oklahoma in 1967. He retired from KAMO in 1983 and remained in Cleveland until the summer of 2007 when he moved to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma to live with his daughter and son-in-law. Steve was a generous individual sharing his considerable construction and electrical knowledge with neighbors, friends, relatives, and spent many hours helping maintain the property at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Cleveland where he was an active member. In addition to helping others with their needs, he enjoyed children, fishing, playing pinochle, watching televised St. Louis Cardinal baseball games, viewing college and professional football contests, and raising a large garden, always sharing the garden's bounty with his neighbors. Steve was also a long-time member of the American Legion and the Knights of Columbus. At the time of his death, Steve was a member of St. Anne's Catholic Church in Broken Arrow. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary, who died in 1999. Also preceding him in death were his parents, four sisters Katherine Gyergyov, Dorothy Triacoff, Mary Crain and Ann Taylor and two brothers, George Petkoff, Jr. and Robert Petkoff. He is survived by his son James Steven Petkoff and wife Sharon of Bates City, Missouri, and a daughter Jane Susan Marquardt and her husband Ron of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Steve leaves four grandchildren, Tracy Bell (Darrell), Rob Petkoff, Mark Marquardt (Hajira) and Rick Marquardt (Julianne). He is also survived by eight great-grandchildren, Barrett, Kendall, Kenzie Bell, Justin an Andi Petkoff, and Adam, Alexandra, and Katherine Marquardt,, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be from 9:00 am until 10:00 am on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 with a memorial services following at 10:00 am at the Chapel of the Chapman-Black Funeral Home. Burial will be at the Woodland Cemetery in Cleveland under the direction of the Chapman-Black Funeral Home.