Steven D. Zachry

Steven D. Zachry, 66, of Stevensville passed away Wednesday Sept 27, 2023, at home. He was born Sept 4, 1957 in Roswell, NM to Dave and Mary Jo Zachry. His father was a schoolteacher/basketball coach and moved the family to Oregon where they lived on a farm. He grew up in Unity, OR and spent his youth in the Unity/Baker area. He loved to play football and basketball as a youth. He graduated from High School with a ROTC scholarship but his love of the outdoors lead him to a life long career in the forest service instead of the military. He started out working summers as a temporary forest service employee at age 18 and eventually worked his way into a full-time permanent position where he stayed the rest of his working career ending his working career as the Northern Region 9 Safety Officer (fire, aviation and air) stationed in Missoula. He traveled often and fought wildfires in nearly every state and several foreign countries. He managed the Umatilla, Lewis and Clark and the Lolo National forests. It often seemed he knew everyone in the Forest Service and many government agencies. He never lost his interest and enthusiasm for following the radar maps of areas where wildfires were breaking out or reading the national weather maps even after retiring. His knowledge of fire science, conservation, environmental and safety issues, forest management, wildlife and geography in the western US was vast. Steve was an avid hunter and gun enthusiast. He had many tales of his hunting and wildlife sighting adventures. He also had a love of bird dogs and spent many happy hours in retirement raising and training Labradors, shooting birds, working at field trials and hunt tests. He had many friends and acquaintances from all over Montana and many other states due to his passionate involvement in dog training. He was a member of the Western Montana Retriever Club (where he served several years as President and Vice President), Treasure State Retriever Club and Mission Valley Retriever Club. Steve also loved gardening and experimenting with growing different varieties of vegetables, flowers, bushes and trees. He was an excellent cook, loved watching the cooking channels, and always wanted to try out new recipes or cooking techniques. He was always perfecting the art of canning, dehydrating, and smoking foods. Cooking a great meal and sharing it with family and friends was something he cherished very much. Steve was a great caring human being and was always there to help anyone in need whether it was family, friends or strangers. He was the guy that showed up even if it was inconvenient or no fun. He gave generously, loved openly, worked hard, lived gracefully and valued diversity and optimism. The world lost a wonderful angel on the day he passed away. For those who knew him best remember him always and know that a part of him will always be with you. It has been a privilege to have him in my life. He left behind wife Sara Zachry, stepdaughter Kacy Marr, sister and brother in-law Suzzane and Steve Howes, brother and sister in-law Scott and Sheila Zachry, nephew Brinton Zachary. Memorials may be given to the Red Cross or your local food bank. No services are currently scheduled.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Steven D. Zachry, please visit our floral store.