Stephen Ralph Eisenman

Stephen Eisenman, 75, of Spring Valley, passed away at his home in the early morning hours of June 5th, 2023.

He was born on November 11th, 1947 in Stewartville and lived his life farming in the Spring Valley area. They say deer often live and die within a mile or two from where they are born, and such was the same for Steve. He was married to his wife, Cheryl, June 23rd, 1979. Steve and Cheryl then adopted their first child, Chey, in 1982. Then, in 1985, they traveled to Brazil to adopt their son, Brent. While he preferred to stay closer to home, his knowledge of surrounding communities and families was impressive. His favorite pastimes included evening drives down gravel roads or driving down to the pasture, trips to Rushford for ice cream, A&W, and Dairy Queen. He also read a great deal on WWII history, especially areas in Italy and North Africa where his father served and was wounded. He loved a good implement show. He would travel far if he heard there would be lots of tractors and farm equipment. In his last days he was worried about putting up hay. Despite being off the farm for a few years, farming was still very much on his mind. He took great care of both the cows and the farm. Those cows lived their best lives. Hosed off on hot days and special mattresses for udder comfort.

In 2019 an Amish family bought the family dairy farm just north of town, and Steve and his wife Cheryl moved into Spring Valley. Steve did a great deal of driving for the Amish community. It is unclear who got more value out of that relationship. The driving and all the homemade pies gave him a great deal of joy. He was also well taken care of by the hematology department at Mayo Clinic, and spoke highly of the care he received for the cancer, Multiple Myeloma. He was a good dad and granddad (Papa). He knew children liked secret trips to get ice cream and going on truck and tractor rides. His dry sense of humor will be missed. He’d get you worked up, and you didn’t know if he was serious or kidding. And in his seriousness he could be kidding, and in his kidding he could be serious.

Steve is survived by his wife,  Cheryl, daughter Chelanne “Chey” Eisenman of St. Paul, son Brent Eisenman (Holly) of Spring Valley, and three grandchildren Isaac, Isabel and Ilianna. Three doting sisters; Elaine Eisenman of  Rochester, Jeanette Lexby (Rick) of Chicago and Rosann Eisenman of Rochester.

He was preceded in death by his parents Ralph and Harriet Eisenman.

Visitation will be held in Spring Valley at Hindt Funeral Home Sunday June 11th from 4-7 p.m. Funeral services will be held Monday June 12th at the Community Center in Wykoff at 11 a.m. with visitation one hour prior and luncheon following. Burial will be at 2:30 p.m. at the Washington Cemetery.

Family requests donations to Seasons Hospice and The Multiple Myeloma Foundation in lieu of memorials and flowers.

Online condolences may be left at Hindtfuneralhomes.com

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.