Steven Baedke

Visitation will be held from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Thursday, May 1, 2025, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Friday at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Gunderson Funeral Home and Cremation Services are entrusted with the arrangements.

Steven was born May 28, 1949, oldest child of Don and Darlene (Derscheid) Baedke. He attended school in Pomeroy and the family moved to Fort Dodge where he lived and worked at the Community Orchard. He graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High in 1967. On September 14, 1968, Steve married his high school sweetheart Sue Fuller. Steve was befriended by “Papa” Treloar, who started Treloar’s Inn and he worked there for 18 years, learning the restaurant business and many cooking skills from some of the best.

After Treloar’s closed, he worked at several local restaurants. He worked for a few years with his wife Sue at their family business, Sue’s Draperies Etc., but his love for the restaurant business brought him back to operating his own A&W Drive Inn and Steve Baedke Catering business for over 30 years. Steve won awards at the Iowa State Fair for his BBQ and Frontier BBQ sauce.

Following retirement, he was a bus driver for the Fort Dodge School System where he enjoyed meeting the staff and all the kids.

Steve was a faith-filled man, an active member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church where he cherished serving communion and served as an elder.

Steve is survived by his wife of 56 years, Sue, his pride and joy were his family, his sons Jeff (Michelle) Baedke of Port Bryon, IL and Jason (Becky) Baedke of Cedar Rapids, IA, four grandchildren, Nicole Hayes, Drew Baedke, Jackson Baedke, and Phoebe Baedke: great grandchildren Brooks Hayes and Wyatt Hayes. He is also survived by his siblings, Mary Collmann, Greg (Bev) Baedke, and Barb (Joe) O’Brion.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings, Jim, Roger, Phyllis VerSteeg and infant sister Julie.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be left to the charitable discretion of the family.