Steven Godecke

Steven Karl Godecke, 39, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died at home on Thursday, April 4, 2019, confident of his promised eternal heavenly home with Christ, his Savior. Visitation will be at Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Cedar Rapids, from 4 pm. to 7 pm. on Tuesday, April 9. A 10 am. funeral service on Wednesday, April 10 will be at St. Paul Lutheran Chapel, Iowa City, where Steve was baptized, and attended as a child and college student. Christian burial will follow in Oakland Cemetery, Iowa City, Iowa. Steve was born in Iowa City, Iowa, on January 11, 1980. As a young child, he endured years of cancer-treatment. Steve attended area schools in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, including Isaac Newton Christian Academy. He graduated from The University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Steve had a life-long love of literature and poetry and was a gifted writer and editor. He volunteered these talents and made many friends through his ten-year participation in JordanCon, a national organization dedicated to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time book series. Steve's employment ambition was to work for a non-profit organization, which he fulfilled as a four-year Americorps Volunteer In Service To America on college campuses in Plano, Texas and Manhattan, Kansas. He also served as Oklahoma State Coordinator for thirteen VISTAS in Americorps Campus Compact for three years. After thirty-two cancer-free years as a notable long-term Rhabdomyosarcoma survivor, a second cancer challenged his final years of life. The following Bible verse was Steve's favorite: 'I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help shall be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. (Psalm 34:4,5) I will act justly, I will love mercy, I will walk humbly with God.' (Micah 6:8) Steve is survived by his parents, William and Karen Godecke; brother, Mark Godecke; and family, numerous aunts, uncles, and his maternal grandmother. His paternal grandparents, maternal grandfather and Uncle 'Karl' predeceased him. Memorial gifts may be directed to Ysleta Lutheran Mission, El Paso, Texas, where Steve volunteered as a summer administrative assistant, or to The University of Iowa Dance Marathon; Steve enthusiastically participated as a student-dancer, and Morale Captain, to benefit children with cancer and their families, at Children's Hospital of Iowa.