On behalf of the family of Steve Whealton, we are sad to report that Steve passed away of natural causes in Port Saint Joe, Florida. Steve was 78-years old.
Due to Covid, there will be no service at this point in time.The minister at the First Methodist Church, where Steve sang in the choir for years says the choir members are eager for there to be a memorial in due time. We are asking for no flowers. Any memorial in Steve’s memory can be sent to the First United Methodist Church, P.O. 266, Port Saint Joe, FL 32457.
Here’s what we’d like people to know about Steve. He was once a tall, young man with an easy smile. He loved his younger cousins and he delighted in tossing them in the air to make them squeal with glee. When they visited, he would take them to the beach and collect shells and build sandcastles. Steve was brilliant and went away to Massachusetts Institute of Technology at age 17 on scholarship. In the early 1960’s he captained the MIT team on a TV quiz show called College Bowl. His MIT team had the longest win streak on College Bowl.
Steve was hired right out of school and became one of the original developers for Polaroid. In his early 20’s Steve had his own show of experimental photography at the Smithsonian Institute. Corporate American was too limiting for his creative mind and Steve quite Polaroid to work as classical music buyer for a large record store in Washington DC.
Later in life Steve moved back to his beloved Port Saint Joe, FL on the gulf coast. Steve was fascinated with computers and continued his experimental photography with computer digital programming. He wrote computer programs which produced unique digital art based on number sequences. He believed color, sound and numbers all had unique properties and blended them to create art. Most people would regard Steve as “quirky” but most geniuses are! In his later years he struggled mentally and was finally diagnosed with a brain tumor which he survived after a surgery. In October of 2018 Steve survived hurricane Michael which tore a path through St. Joe and severely damaged his modest home.
Steve loved singing in the church choir, photography, classical music, supporting the local girls softball team, snap-up cowboy shirts and he was a lifelong Dodger fan. We are so glad he was able to see the Dodger’s win the 2020 World Series.
Please feel free to share memories with me and I’ll pass them on to the family.
