2025 April 19th: Steve Mannschreck
Mark, Steve's son posted the following on Facebook as well as a tribute link:
My father, Stephen Lester Mannschreck, passed away in the early morning hours of April 19, 2025, at his home in Salt Lake City. It has taken me time to put these words and photos together. Melissa and I have been wrapping our heads around the loss of both of our parents. My mother, Marian Jean Mannschreck (Papineau), passed away on May 24, 2015, just days before what should have been her 70th birthday. My father’s unexpected passing came almost exactly 10 years later.
Over the past months I’ve been at my parents’ home — first with Melissa and my fiancé Clarisa, and later by myself — sorting through photos, files, and memories. Clarisa helped us immensely when the shock was fresh, and I’ve leaned on her strength as I reflect on everything we’ve lost and everything we were given.
Anyone who knew my father also knew he was intensely organized. We’ve often joked about it, but his meticulousness was real. From appliances to Scotch Tape, he recorded the date and purchase price of everything he purchased. He made spreadsheets on it all. He kept everything, not out of hoarding but out of care. Like a curator of our family’s museum, he laid it all out so nothing would be lost. As I sort through hundreds of folders and albums, I see that he preserved every accomplishment — no matter how small. He was proud of us. He was proud of me.
Early Life
My father was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on September 5, 1945, to Lester Fred and Sylvia Friedericka Wellman Mannschreck. His parents ran Mannschreck’s Bar and Café in Auburn, NE. My grandfather also served as Nemaha County Clerk, elected as a Democrat in a strongly Republican region — a reminder of the independent spirit that runs in our family. My grandfather even stamped “DEMOCRAT” on my birth certificate.
In October 1952, when Dad was just 7, he was taken out of school to meet President Harry S. Truman, who was coming through town by train. Of all the children there, Truman invited him into his private car and sat him on his lap for photographs. Dad saved the articles about it forever, proud of that moment and of his father who made it possible.
He grew up close with his cousin Tom — inseparable, visiting Disneyland together the year it opened in 1955.
Education & Youth
He graduated from Auburn High School in 1963 as class president, a National Honor Society member, and president of the Alpha Beta Gamma Math & Science Club. He excelled in speech, drama, and music — playing accordion at community events, acting in plays, and earning “Superior” ratings in speech competitions.
At the University of Nebraska, he studied pharmacy, earning his B.S. in 1969. He was social chairman of Phi Kappa Psi and recipient of the Regents Freshman Scholarship. It was there he met my mother, Marian Jean Papineau. Though she was dating a fraternity brother, my father’s persistence and charm eventually won her heart. They married on August 27, 1966.
My mom went into labor with me during Dad’s pharmacy finals in 1969. He finished his exam early, rushed to the hospital, and made it just in time for my birth — and still passed his boards.
Career
Dad began his career as a pharmacist at Osco Drug in 1969. But he quickly rose into management, becoming store manager, district manager, and ultimately Executive VP of American Drug Stores, COO of Osco, and later CHRO of American Stores Company.
His career moved our family from Nebraska to Illinois, Wyoming, and Utah. He oversaw the Albertsons merger, led construction of a new 24-story headquarters in Salt Lake City, and served on the March of Dimes board, the Salt Lake Chamber during the 2002 Olympics, and the board of Spenco Medical. He even received honorary membership in the Ute Indian Tribe, the first in 40 years.
Family & Traditions
Despite his work, family always came first. We drove cross-country to Disney World, camped at Frontier Wilderness, and fished remote Canadian lakes with the Papineaus. Our family traditions — portaging boats through wilderness, singing along to “It’s a Small World” — were the backdrop of our lives.
In 1986, he purchased our second home in Makena, Maui. It became a sanctuary for our family, and later the place where both of my parents’ ashes would return to the sea.
Dad loved classic country music — Willie, Waylon, and Johnny — and genealogy. After visiting the Mannschreck ancestral home in Strümpfelbach, Germany, in 1976, he dedicated his life to tracing the family line back to 1343.
Later Life
He stood by my mother through every health crisis — a brain bleed in 1980, lymphoma in 2004, and ultimately pancreatic cancer, which claimed her in 2015. He was devastated, but carried on, devoting himself to family and friends. He loved his grandchildren — Christian, Michael, and Matthew — deeply.
Those who knew him remember his careful attention to detail, loyalty to lifelong friendships, and his role as family historian. He preserved not just photographs and documents but the café furniture from my grandparents’ Auburn café — tangible pieces of family history.
Legacy
Dad was preceded in death by my mom, his parents Lester and Sylvia, his cousin Tom, and many others. He is survived by me, my sister Melissa, my fiancé Clarisa, my son Christian, and Melissa’s sons Michael and Matthew.
Clarisa called him “Cutie Pie” — a nickname that captured his warmth.
He was cremated on April 29, 2025, and will be reunited with my mom in Maui, where their ashes will rest together in the tide pools they loved.
There will be no formal services. Instead, we ask that he be remembered through the family stories, genealogical records, and connections he so carefully preserved.
Closing
My father lived a life of detail, devotion, and dignity. He organized, protected, and celebrated his family in ways that ensured none of us would ever be forgotten. We are proud of him, as he was proud of us.
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