Daddy's Hands

"My favorite picture of you, is the one that's painted in my heart

My favorite picture of you, is a thousand memories of who you are,

Picture-perfect masterpiece, made of the memories- the one of you lovin' me,

yeah, that's my favorite picture, that's my favorite picture of you." 

(Excerpt from "My Favorite Picture of You"  by Darin & Brooke Aldridge)

I'm sure each one of you who knew our Dad, has your own favorite picture of him painted in your mind (and possibly on your heart.). I'm thankful for pictures and the memories that they spark -- more so now that Dad is no longer here with us. I'm grateful for the legacy that Dad leaves us, for the way he impacted our family and had a large part in shaping us to be who we are today, and for the amazing "masterpieces"that memories of him create in each family member's heart. We miss him so much! 

It's Emily writing here today, and I've been putting off writing this post, because I wasn't sure what to say.... I'm still not sure that I have the "right" words, but I'm ready to try. 

    The man who was the amazing leader of our family, left us on June 12th, to go to his heavenly home. We all got to be with him for those last few hours. It was rather a quick and fairly unexpected change for our family. Dad baled hay for much of the day on Friday, took a turn for the worse that night, was admitted to the local hospital Saturday morning, and transferred to Duluth. He was very sick, but seemed somewhat stable. Tuesday morning we got the news that the outlook wasn't great and Wednesday morning we released him to the loving arms of our Heavenly Father.  Mom was with him for the whole hospital stay and us siblings were all there Tuesday night for a few hours (during which Dad was very responsive and could still communicate). I'm so grateful for that special time we had together... Four of us came home -- only to get a call 3 hrs later that Dad wouldn't be here much longer. We hurriedly piled back in the car and scrambled to make it back to hospital (over 2 hrs away) hoping to get there before it was too late. Dad, who knew we were coming back, held on til we got there -- so we were all together for one last time this side of heaven... Hard as it was, I wouldn't trade it for a different story. We all all got to be there, to say "I love you", and to be with him as he went to his eternal home.  Heaven -- that glorious place were he doesn't have to struggle with a weak heart, or do dialysis treatments 5 days a week, where he is free of pain and present with the Lord whom he loved and served so faithfully. 

Having someone you dearly love in heaven, makes heaven more real, and I'm so glad for the hope we have in Christ - that death isn't the end of the story - but rather He offers us everlasting life. If you don't personally know of  or have this hope, please reach out to any of us, we would love to share how you too can have this hope. Death is a very real thing, and we don't want you to have to face it without the hope of eternal life.

I'll share most of the expanded obituary that we wrote as a family for his service at the end of this post, but first a few more pictures.  Lyrics are from the older country song "Daddy's Hands" (written by Holly Dunn) that we sang at his memorial service, and have been including at most of our concerts since then.

I remember daddy's hands folded silently in prayer

 And reachin' out to hold me, when I had a nightmare

 You could read quite a story in the callous' and lines

 Years of work and worry had left their mark behind

I remember daddy's hands how they held my mama tight

And patted my back for something done right

 There are things that I'd forgotten that I loved about the man

But I'll always remember the love in daddy's hands

 Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin'

Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong

Daddy's hands weren't always gentle but I've come to understand

There was always love in daddy's hands

 I remember daddy's hands workin' 'til they bled

 Sacrificed unselfishly just to keep us all fed

If I could do things over, I'd live my life again

  And never take for granted the love in daddy's hands

 Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin'

Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong

 Daddy's hands weren't always gentle but I've come to understand

 There was always love in daddy's hands

 There was always love in daddy's hands

We'll always remember the love that our Dad showed us on a daily basis.

We are so blessed to have had him be such a large part of our lives from our very first breath in this world. 

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all you who have surrounded and supported us in a variety of ways through this difficult season. We're all hanging in there -- God is faithful to meet our needs and give us grace and strength for each day. Dad was a part of our daily lives, and we continue to miss his guidance, wisdom, love, care and presence. However, we take comfort knowing that God walks with us through this valley, and we are not alone. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Steven L. Kormann, age 67, of Exeland, WI passed away June 12, 2024. He was born on August 31, 1956 to Luverne and Betty Kormann in Waseca, MN. He graduated from New Richland High School in 1974. After high school he worked for a building contractor for a number of years where he learned finish carpentry.  He then changed jobs to be a herdsmen at a hog farm. It was in a hog barn where Steve first met Ann who was doing a college internship. They decided that if they could move pigs together, they could do anything together and were married in September of 1985.  Steve and Ann served as missionaries for 2 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he oversaw several construction projects, and supervised a portable sawmill. They returned to southern MN and he resumed construction work. They purchased his home place and continued farming his family’s small farm on the side.

In 1993, Steve moved his family here to this farm to pursue his lifelong dream of being a dairy farmer. He came with fresh ideas and did things differently than others in the area, including transitioning his farm to an organic grass fed dairy in 2004 and using several less common breeds and a variety of genetics to build a herd that could thrive on his farm. He taught his kids to farm by letting them make decisions even if it wasn’t quite what he would have done.  The last day he was home, he was milking cows and baling hay.

 His desire was to be self-employed saying “I want to watch my kids grow up.”  He was a “hands on” dad in many ways. He delivered two of his kids when the midwife didn’t show up soon enough.  Steve let his kids help with almost anything he was doing, and helped them pursue their interests, including a wide variety of animal projects and other hobbies.  He also was very involved in the family’s homeschool day. After chores and breakfast, he would spend time with the whole family around the table reading the Bible and praying.  Kids needing help with subjects like Algebra, Geometry, and Physics were referred to Steve for assistance and he helped them work through the complex topics.  

Music was an important part of Steve’s life. He grew up in a family that loved music, he and his siblings would sing around the piano, and he sang in a quartet and in choirs. He led music at our church for many years. He passed his love of music and the importance of having good rhythm on to his kids. The kids weren’t always happy when dad showed up to help them practice, because he made them get the tricky spots right, but it all paid off as eventually they all came together to form a family band that has ministered to a lot of people over the past 15+ years.  He continued to sing with his family until the very end, even joining in with them as they sang around his hospital bed just hours before he passed.

Steve enjoyed spending time with his family, music, playing games and woodworking. He could fix about anything and had an incredible amount of patience to work at something long after most others would give up. His favorite place to be was home. Steve was committed to his God, his family, and his community and served in countless ways. His humility, patience, and quiet strength impacted those around him. He is enjoying eternal life with his Savior in whom he placed his trust.