Steven Lee Manion, 59, formerly of Alliance, Nebr., died on Dec. 16, 2012, at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y.

Steven was born on January 22, 1953 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Alliance, Nebraska.  He grew up on a rural farm north of Alliance and graduated from St. Agnes Academy in 1971.  After earning a degree in sociology from the University of Nebraska-Kearney, he began a career in communications at Lincoln Telephone Company. He would later work at GTE, Contel and Verizon. During his career at Verizon, Steven was honored with the Verizon Excellence Award in 2004.

During the course of his life, Steven lived and worked in Lincoln, Nebr.; Atlanta, Ga., Tampa, Fla; Dallas, Texas; and Santa Fe, N.M.

Away from work, Steven took great pride in his son, Brian, and grandson Finnigan, born in December of 2010.

Steven was a big football fan and enjoyed watching his favorite teams, the New Orleans Saints and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. During his years living in Lincoln, Steven helped to park cars at Husker football games, a job that allowed him to see every home game in person.

Steven loved decorating for all the holidays and he especially enjoyed Christmas.

Upon his retirement, Steven dedicated his time to volunteer work and spent many hours at Christus-St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe working in the Cancer Treatment Center. His mission was to be an advocate for patients to ensure that their voices were heard.  Many patients submitted formal letters to the hospital, recognizing and thanking Steven for his work, often stating, “Steven really cared about me and did everything possible to make me comfortable during my treatment.  He took time to get to know me as a person, not just a patient.”

Steven also volunteered his time at The Horse Rescue, a sanctuary for abused and neglected horses, in Santa Fe, NM. He also volunteered at Friends of Strong Memorial Hospital Cancer Treatment Center in Henrietta, NY.

It was Steven’s dream upon retirement to also dedicate his time to traveling.  He was very outgoing and loved meeting new people, and as a result, gained many close friends throughout the United States.

Survivors include his life partner, Gorden Dreyer; his mother, Doris Manion of Alliance, Nebr., a son, Brian Manion, fiancé Missy and grandchild Finnegan of Plano, Texas; a brother, Kirt Manion, wife Kim and niece Kaylee of Nebraska City, Nebr., a sister, Kelly Reisig, husband Lincoln and niece Lily of Mitchell, Nebr., and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

He was preceded in death by his father, Laurence Manion and his sister Susan Manion-Hendrix.

A rosary will be held on Monday, January 21, 2013 at 7 p.m. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church.  The celebration of Steven’s life will take place on his birthday; Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 10 a.m., at Holy Rosary Catholic Church with Fr. Lou Nollette officiating.

Contributions in memory of Steven may be made to The Horses Shelter, 1012 Marquez Place, Ste 201B, Santa Fe, NM 87505.