PALS, Steven Craig 1953-2009

PALS, CARLSON, MALOCH

Posted By: County Coordinator (email)
Date: 11/3/2009 at 10:51:40

Mr. Steven Pals, age 56, of Orange City, Iowa, passed away on Tuesday, August 18, 2009, at his residence. A memorial service was held on Saturday, August 22 at the Dover Avenue Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Orange City. Interment took place prior to the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City.

Steven Craig was born on January 11, 1953, in Orange City, the son of Clifford and Barbara (Carlson) Pals. He was raised in Orange City and Roseville, Minnesota.

He graduated from Northwestern College in Orange City in 1975 and then earned his Masters' Degree in Public Administration at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. From 1977 to 1980, he was the Executive Director of the Rock Rapids, Iowa, Community Affairs Corporation. He then returned to the University of Iowa, where he graduated from their Law School in 1983.

From 1983 to 1985, he practiced law in Waterloo, Iowa. He then served a year in the Child Support Recovery Office in Mason City, Iowa, and a year in the Woodbury County Attorney's office in Sioux City, Iowa.

In 1988, he joined the law firm of Binder and Skinner in Orange City, which later joined the Klay Law Office in Orange City, where he became a partner in 1991. In 2002, he left the law firm, and in 2004, he joined the Public Defender's Office in Woodbury County, where he worked until two weeks ago.

On July 18, 1981, he married Dr. Cynthia Maloch in Emerson, Arkansas. Since the fall of 1989, they have made their home in Orange City.

He was a member of the Dover Avenue Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, where he served as an elder, taught Sunday school classes, and was secretary of their governing board. He also belonged to the Sioux County, Iowa, Bar Association.

He was an avid Iowa Hawkeyes fan, especially football, and he regularly attended the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. He also served as a Boy Scout leader.

Survivors include his wife of more than 28 years, Cindy; two daughters, Samara Pals, of Nashville, Tennessee, and Brande Pals, of Orange City; two sons, Zachary Pals and Schuyler Pals, both of Orange City; his mother, Barbara Pals, of Plymouth, Minnesota; a grandmother, LaBonna Carlson, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota; a sister Peggy (Larry) Vande Brake, of Orange City; and three brothers, Cedrick (Kathy) Pals, of Lino Lake, Minnesota; Jefferson (Christina) Pals, of Chandler, Arizona; and Thomas (Miki) Pals, of Hamamatsu, Japan.

He was preceded in death by his father, Clifford Pals, and his grandparents, Cornelius and Claire Pals and Gunnard Carlson.

(Oolman Funeral Home obituary)