Remembering Steve ZUEHLKE

 One of the things I love most about magic is that it introduces you to people you never would have met otherwise. For me, 6 years ago, Steve Zuehlke was just a name connected to rare magic books. Before long, he became a friend affectionately known as Steve-O, or just Z... and he often referred to my Steve as his brother, or brother from another mother. 

The first time I communicated with Steve back in the covid days, he was GIVING something away in magic. FREE to a good home - a huge pile of memorabilia from years and years of S.A.M. Conventions. I reached out and said I was interested and so it began. He joined Our Magic group on Facebook, quickly became our main contributor, and grew a love for my Steve! 

Steve Z and I worked together on the flyers for Gateway, back when it was still the Senior Tour and it grew into the convention so many magicians look forward to each year. He cared about those flyers. He cared about getting things right. We'd go back and forth over wording, photos, schedules, and details, and somewhere in the middle of all of that, we'd end up laughing. Steve-O liked to pick on me. Not in a mean way. It was just his personality. If he had the chance to tease me, he took it, and I gave it right back. Looking back, those conversations are the ones I'll miss the most. Occasionally he would call me at work and ask me to change something or add something to the flyer, and I would say "Steve we have TEN MONTHS to work on this!" We always seemed to end up laughing before we hung up or stopped messaging.

Whenever Steve thought he'd kept me busy a little longer than expected with another flyer revision, he'd make up for it by finding a special magic book for my Steve. It became one of those little unspoken traditions between us. He knew exactly what would make another magician smile!
That's who Steve was.

Most people knew him as the guy who could find almost any magic book and bonus - he could usually name a good value on it instantly. His knowledge was incredible, and he was always willing to share it. But what stood out to me wasn't what he knew. It was how generous he was with it. If he could help you, he did. He was just as generous with his encouragement. Steve was always supportive of what my Steve was building. Every new prop, every idea, every project, we knew Steve would be cheering us on. In a community as small as ours, those people not only matter, but they help you thrive. They keep you going on the days when you're wondering if anyone notices the work.

This year, we finally got to meet Steve in person at Gateway after years of emails, phone calls, and messages. It felt just like running into an old friend.

I smiled when I learned he had started taking guitar lessons. He was on me for months to make sure my Steve brought his guitar and banjo with him on our recent trip to St Louis. I asked “HOW and WHEN are you Steve-O's gonna JAM when you're wrapped up in magic?” He would scoff at me when I said "no we aren't hauling instruments with all this magic too!" 

I'll miss the surprise packages that would show up in the mail with a thoughtful note tucked inside. I'll miss hearing about another collection he was pondering....or the impossible to find book he'd tracked down. I'll miss the teasing. Most of all, we'll miss laughing with our friend.

To Barb and Steve's family, thank you for sharing him with all of us. While you knew him as a partner, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle, so many of us knew him as the friend who answered the phone, shared what he knew, made us laugh, and quietly made this little corner of the magic world feel more like family.

Magic has a tradition called the Broken Wand Ceremony, honoring a magician whose final performance has come to an end. But Steve's legacy in magic wasn't just the magic he performed… I think it was the friendships he built, the knowledge he shared, the encouragement he gave, and the laughter he left with all of us.

We'll miss you, friend.