IN LOVING MEMORY OF
Stephanie
Santos
August 30, 2014
Obituary
ELKHART — Stephanie A. Santos, 56, of Elkhart, and a devout Catholic, passed away Saturday evening, Aug. 30, in her home surrounded by her family after a long battle with ovarian cancer.
Stephanie Ann Moore was born in Ashville, N.C., on April 30, 1958. She moved to Angleton, Texas, in 1978, where she married Roger Santos and began her family. She moved to Elkhart in 1987, where her family resided.
Stephanie joined MDA in 1988 as a program coordinator. Within her first year, she became the district director of the Princess City, Mishawaka. Her favorite memories, and what made her fall in love with MDA, was the summer camp. She formed a close bond with all her patients and families as well as the sponsors.
She became known to the public as the MDA Lady. Stephanie did not just work behind a desk; she traveled across the northern part of the state educating people about muscular dystrophy. For a brief period she was regional coordinator, but her real passion was working with the families and sponsors, so she returned to the Mishawaka district.
Stephanie worked closely with Fox 28 and all the firefighters across Northern Indiana. Her signature event was working with ABATE of Indiana. Her forte has been working with the motorcycle community and a lot of big, tattooed, bearded bikers with hearts of gold. She developed a unique relationship with Region One and Region Two in North and Northwest Indiana. She maintained these relationships and helped turn their annual motorcycle rides into huge motorcycle extravaganzas.
Both ABATE regions led the state in donations every year. Her motto was, "We do the difficult daily and the impossible often." Stephanie had so much passion for helping people. She would say she felt lucky to have her passion be her paycheck because she loved what she did. Stephanie retired from MDA in 2013.
Stephanie enjoyed spending time with her family, volunteering at her church and many activities such as sky diving, motorcycling and sailing. Family was very important to Stephanie and her children and grandchildren meant the world to her. Stephanie was an adventure seeker and loved the trills of new adventures.
She is survived by her two children, Roger "Nik" (Diana) Santos and Christina "Tia" (Patrick Jr.) Burke, both of Elkhart; her seven grandchildren, Brennan Smith, Zoë Hedman, Madison and Mia Burke and Carmine, Vinnie and Frankie Santos; her parents, Art and Pat Rozema of Hotsprings Village, Ark.; and siblings Obie "Rusty" (Karen) Moore of Farmington Hills, Mich., Teresa (Victor) Dearman of Angleton and Gene (Annette) Moore of Mishawaka. Other siblings include Brad Rozema, Brian (Julie) Rozema and Art E. (Meghan) Rozema, Lynne (Rob) Driscoll and Fawn (Tom) Atkinson. Also surviving are her aunt, Grace Culkin of St. Louis, and her great-aunt, Mary Costello of Pimbrooke Pines, Fla.
She was preceded in death by her father, Obie Moore; her grandmother, Edna Moore; her uncle, Lawrence Costello; and, just in June, her grandmother, Anne Culkin.
Visitation will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, at Billings Funeral Home, 812 Baldwin St., Elkhart. There will be a funeral procession from Billings Funeral Home to St. Mary's of the Annunciation Church, 411 W. Vistula St., Bristol on Saturday, Sept. 6, led by ABATE, kick stands up at 9:30 a.m. Friends may also call for an hour prior to the 11 a.m. Saturday Mass of Christian Burial at the church. The Rev. Robert VanKempen will officiate. A celebration of Stephanie's life and dinner will follow in Annunciation Hall. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to stay.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to the church or her family to go to An Angel's Heart — an organization the family is setting up in Stephanie's memory so they may continue to carry out her passion of helping others. All proceeds will be given to the terminally ill and their caregiver for a day of relaxation and pampering. Online condolences may be sent to www.billingsfuneralhome.com.
Stephanie Ann Moore was born in Ashville, N.C., on April 30, 1958. She moved to Angleton, Texas, in 1978, where she married Roger Santos and began her family. She moved to Elkhart in 1987, where her family resided.
Stephanie joined MDA in 1988 as a program coordinator. Within her first year, she became the district director of the Princess City, Mishawaka. Her favorite memories, and what made her fall in love with MDA, was the summer camp. She formed a close bond with all her patients and families as well as the sponsors.
She became known to the public as the MDA Lady. Stephanie did not just work behind a desk; she traveled across the northern part of the state educating people about muscular dystrophy. For a brief period she was regional coordinator, but her real passion was working with the families and sponsors, so she returned to the Mishawaka district.
Stephanie worked closely with Fox 28 and all the firefighters across Northern Indiana. Her signature event was working with ABATE of Indiana. Her forte has been working with the motorcycle community and a lot of big, tattooed, bearded bikers with hearts of gold. She developed a unique relationship with Region One and Region Two in North and Northwest Indiana. She maintained these relationships and helped turn their annual motorcycle rides into huge motorcycle extravaganzas.
Both ABATE regions led the state in donations every year. Her motto was, "We do the difficult daily and the impossible often." Stephanie had so much passion for helping people. She would say she felt lucky to have her passion be her paycheck because she loved what she did. Stephanie retired from MDA in 2013.
Stephanie enjoyed spending time with her family, volunteering at her church and many activities such as sky diving, motorcycling and sailing. Family was very important to Stephanie and her children and grandchildren meant the world to her. Stephanie was an adventure seeker and loved the trills of new adventures.
She is survived by her two children, Roger "Nik" (Diana) Santos and Christina "Tia" (Patrick Jr.) Burke, both of Elkhart; her seven grandchildren, Brennan Smith, Zoë Hedman, Madison and Mia Burke and Carmine, Vinnie and Frankie Santos; her parents, Art and Pat Rozema of Hotsprings Village, Ark.; and siblings Obie "Rusty" (Karen) Moore of Farmington Hills, Mich., Teresa (Victor) Dearman of Angleton and Gene (Annette) Moore of Mishawaka. Other siblings include Brad Rozema, Brian (Julie) Rozema and Art E. (Meghan) Rozema, Lynne (Rob) Driscoll and Fawn (Tom) Atkinson. Also surviving are her aunt, Grace Culkin of St. Louis, and her great-aunt, Mary Costello of Pimbrooke Pines, Fla.
She was preceded in death by her father, Obie Moore; her grandmother, Edna Moore; her uncle, Lawrence Costello; and, just in June, her grandmother, Anne Culkin.
Visitation will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, at Billings Funeral Home, 812 Baldwin St., Elkhart. There will be a funeral procession from Billings Funeral Home to St. Mary's of the Annunciation Church, 411 W. Vistula St., Bristol on Saturday, Sept. 6, led by ABATE, kick stands up at 9:30 a.m. Friends may also call for an hour prior to the 11 a.m. Saturday Mass of Christian Burial at the church. The Rev. Robert VanKempen will officiate. A celebration of Stephanie's life and dinner will follow in Annunciation Hall. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to stay.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to the church or her family to go to An Angel's Heart — an organization the family is setting up in Stephanie's memory so they may continue to carry out her passion of helping others. All proceeds will be given to the terminally ill and their caregiver for a day of relaxation and pampering. Online condolences may be sent to www.billingsfuneralhome.com.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Stephanie Santos, please visit our flower store.
Services
Visitation
September
6
St. Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church
10:00 - 11:00 am
Mass Of Christian Burial
September
6
St. Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church
Starts at 11:00 am