Steven L. “Steve” Myren of Boardman died on Feb. 1, 2021 in Hermiston at the age of 58.
He was born on July 23, 1962 in Silverton.
Steve was true to form right up to the end, doing anything he possibly could for Mim and everyone else who loved him so much. He composed the following just days before he passed, which captures the heart and spirit of a truly great man:
“Greetings friends!
First, on the subject of religion, I consider myself a Christian. Some might be surprised to hear that but it is true. I have never been near as devout as most people in terms of open expression but I have prayed to God privately in my moments of need and guidance for many, many years. I do believe in heaven and I believe Jesus died for my sins.
Second, I am so VERY happy with my life. I have very few regrets. I think that while I have had some interesting mis-adventures over the years, each and every one of them has formed me into the man I am today. And the good has SO FAR outweighed the bad I simply have no room to complain.
Part of what fuels me and has fulfilled my life has come out of my desire to “help people.” I never cared what time of the day or night or the circumstances, if it were in my power to assist I would do my level best to make it happen. THAT my friends is where the reward comes from. People remember kindness and it has always come back in the form of help and support whenever my Lovely Bride or I needed anything.
I would not have achieved near what I have had it not been for meeting Miriam “Mim” Reimer and convincing her to be my bride in 1981 in Silverton. She has been by my side supporting me without fail for 40 years. She is MY hero. All of my adult life she has been the rock that I lean on, my sounding board and best friend. While I was gallivanting off on adventures she was happy to be the one at home. While we have had a lot of fabulous adventures together she was also happy to let me “roam” at times and go on my “walkabouts.” She still to this day says, “You feathered me too nice of a nest here, I am comfortable and happy.”
I started in public safety 40 years ago when I was 18 years old as a fire department volunteer, became an EMT, a dispatcher, and eventually a police officer. Over the last few years I became less active in fire and EMS and more active in law enforcement, eventually retiring as the undersheriff and emergency manager in Morrow County. In my career I have delivered multiple babies, was part of an ambulance crew that brought patients back from cardiac arrest on three occasions, and treated literally thousands of patients while working EMS/law enforcement.
During the time that I was a DARE officer, I taught that program in every sixth-grade class in Morrow County for many years. This gave me unique access and contact with the youth of the county. To this day I still have people (now adults) remind me that they were one of my DARE students. Having the rapport with the students kept me involved as they matured into young adults. There are a fair number that I was able to help past rough spots and they are the ones I am most proud of. Even though sometimes my co-workers would not agree with me, taking the “extra” time to work with the troubled ones, I am proud to say that those kids fought their way to a good place and are doing exceptionally well! Many are FB friends and I want you to know I am STILL proud of you!
Third, my federal work with the medical teams. Many years ago, I was asked to sit on a state disaster committee. I was later asked to join the Oregon Disaster Medical Team. This team was part of a nationwide DMAT (Disaster Medical Assistance Team), and plugged me into a world I never thought I would see. My very first team deployment was to Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks, where I led the team as we helped take care of the people working the World Trade Center site. Over the years I was given more duties and eventually rose to the level of Type-I operations section chief. In that capacity there were (at the time) only four of us qualified to that level in the U.S. with our agency and as such we were BUSY. I deployed to the Olympics, numerous hurricanes, tornadoes, the American Samoa tsunami, and many weeks in New York managing over 1,500 team members while working Superstorm Sandy.”
Love you all, Steve and Mim
Steve is survived by his wife and partner for over 40 years, Mim Myren; sisters, Susan (Casper) Lehner and Elsie (Tim) Dirlam; numerous nieces and nephews; as well as countless colleagues.
Arrangements are pending.
Those who wish may make contributions in Steve’s memory to the American Cancer Society.
Please share memories of Steve with his family at burnsmortuaryhermiston.com.
Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in care of arrangements.
