Lance Kevin Steffen

Lance "Lannie" Kevin Steffen, age 69, of Raymond, passed away Sunday morning, April 30, at CentraCare Rice Memorial Hospital.

Visitation will begin at 1:00 p.m. followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, May 5, at the Church of St. Mary in Willmar.  Interment will be at Fairview Cemetery in Raymond.  Arrangements are entrusted to the Peterson Brothers Funeral Home.  www.petersonbrothers.com

Lance "Lannie" Kevin Steffen was born on July 7, 1953, in Willmar, Minnesota, the son of Keith and LaVerne (Haats) Steffen.  He grew up in Raymond and graduated from Raymond High School in 1971.  Lannie excelled in sports and academics in high school.  He attended the Willmar Community College and then the University of Minnesota, at both the Morris and Minneapolis campus, graduating with a BA degree in English and History.  Lannie worked at Chicago Cutlery for many years before working as a coder for various legal firms.  In 2008, he retired and moved back to the Raymond community.  

Lance was a man of brilliant intellect, intuition and a phenomenal memory.  He had memorized all the monarchs of Britain and England as well as being able to recount details of the lives of Roman Emperors, having read the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire at least 3 times.  Lannie was able to predict political trends decades in advance with uncanny accuracy.

Lannie was a fantastic chef, cooking tasteful French, German, Italian, Southern, Asian and Midwest cuisines.  He also enjoyed music, reading, birdwatching and bible study.  In 1985, he joined the Catholic church after reading the bible in several versions and the Church Fathers completely.

He is survived by his best friend, David Sattman; three siblings, Scott, Todd and Shawna Steffen, several cousins, nieces and nephews, besides other relatives and many friends from Raymond and the Twin Cities.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two siblings, Kerry and Kelly and a cousin, Mark.