Steve Stickney (1954-2010)

A Special Tribute was made to Steve Stickney for the 24th Annual Kearney Cruise Nite, with his car on display, and a special T-Shirt with a cartoon drawing of Steve in his beloved ’55 Chevy Bel-Air.

[Show as slideshow]

Steve Stickney of Kearney shows off his 1955 Chevy Bel Air with a right-hand steering wheel. Stickney, a longtime Cruise Nite supporter who died Sunday, even had 1955 as the last digits of his phone number. Kearney HUB file photo, by Brad Norton.

KEARNEY – Steve Robert Stickney, 55, of Kearney died of cardiac arrest Sunday, Oct. 31, 2010, at his home.

He was born Nov. 8, 1954, in Ravenna to Robert and Glendoris (Basnett) Stickney.

On Sept. 6, 1975, he married Debra Musil in Kearney.

Survivors include his sons, Logan and his fiancée, Holly Prehn, of Lakewood, Colo., and Cory and his wife, Erin, of Omaha; sisters, Kristi Fisher and her husband, Ken, of Ravenna and Sheri Eatherton of Kearney; brother, Rich of Alliance; his father of Ravenna; special friend, Rose Wilke of Kearney; and many extended family and dear friends. He leaves behind his dog, Cloud, and cat, Morris.

He was baptized in the Methodist Church in Ravenna on April 3, 1955. He grew up in Ravenna until the family moved to Kearney in 1969. He graduated from Kearney High School in 1973.

After high school, Steve and Deb lived in Grand Island and Lincoln. Steve attended Southeast Community College in Milford and graduated with a degree in auto body repair in 1978. They returned to Kearney to make their home.

Throughout his career, Steve worked at Eaton’s, Kearney Body Shop and Killion Motors and worked at Turner’s Body Shop at the time of his death.

One of Steve’s great loves in life were classic cars. He was most proud of his 1955 Chevy Nomad, which he acquired and restored at age 16.

He also was a member of Central Nebraska Auto Club and was instrumental in growing Kearney’s annual Cruise Nite celebration.  He served as chairman of Cruise Nite for nearly two decades.

He also was a member of First United Methodist Church in Kearney. He had a love of animals and enjoyed the company of family and friends, particularly his sons. He will be missed by them more than he could have imagined.

He was preceded in death by his mother, grandparents and brother-in-law, Steve Eatherton.

(Story published from the 11-5-2010 Kearney HUB)

Cruise Nite booster Stickney died Sunday

Friday, November 5, 2010
By KEVIN HERVERT Hub Staff Writer

KEARNEY — A Cruise Nite icon will be missed for lots of reasons, a close classic car friend said.

Steve Stickney, 55, of Kearney died of cardiac arrest Sunday at his home.

“Steve’s passion was classic cars,” Brad Kernick said. “He lived that every day. Even in his time off he was working on classic cars. He transferred that love to Cruise Nite for many years.”

Stickney was a member of Central Nebraska Auto Club, served as chairman of Cruise Nite for nearly two decades and was instrumental in growing the annual celebration. Cruise Nite now is a four-day event that attracts more than 500 classic cars and their drivers for what some people consider Kearney’s signature event.

“He will be missed for lots of reasons. He’ll leave a very empty spot in our hearts. We already miss him. We’re already talking about dedicating this next Cruise Nite in his memory,” Kernick said. “We’ll all be wearing our red Central Nebraska Auto Club shirts to the funeral in his memory.”

Stickney was proudest of the 1955 Chevy he acquired and restored at age 16.

He modified it by putting the steering on the right side, he said in a 2006 interview. He was able to obtain the necessary parts for the modification from overseas.

“You have to make a decision if you like your vehicle or you love it. If you love it, you’ll spend more money on it. It’d be a dull world if we all drove a white Chevy pickup,” he said then.

He grew up in Ravenna until the family moved to Kearney in 1969. He graduated from Kearney High School in 1973.

He attended Southeast Community College in Milford and graduated with a degree in auto body repair in 1978.

Stickney had worked at Eaton’s, Kearney Body Shop and Killion Motors and was working at Turner’s Body Shop.

He also was a member of First United Methodist Church in Kearney. He loved animals and enjoyed the company of family and friends, an obituary on page 6A today says.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Kearney with the Revs. Gary Main and Mike McDonald officiating. Burial will be at Highland Park Cemetery in Ravenna.

The family requests people attending the services who own a classic car to drive it to the service and to the cemetery. They also encourage anyone to wear their Cruise Nite attire to the service.