Obituary

Steven Craig Austin, 55, was born in Staten Island, NY on July 24, 1969.  He was a father, husband, son, cousin and great friend to so many.  He was one of the kindest, most caring person you could hope to ever meet. Everyone that met him loved him.  He had a great love for music and had a successful career as a music producer and artist Steve Deparr, touring and traveling the world, until he settled down for a simpler life with his family; he invested his time in starting a small business developing software for clients.  Anyone who knows him, knows that he was always working on something, weather it was building a studio in his home to create new music, building a deck, renovating the house, building a software company, or working for several major organizations; Steve was the full package. There was nothing he couldn’t do.  He was skilled and handy; he became YouTube certified it almost anything he wanted to do.  That is the legacy that he leaves behind for his friends and family.  His dedication and commitment to what really mattered, is what made Steven one of the best people you could hope to meet.  He was a great man that made it easy to love him.  He was a great listener, and passionate, he loved to share his joy with anyone he encountered.  He was on a mission to change the mind of anyone he thought didn’t like him.  He didn’t stop until they became his friend.  You would be a very fortunate person to call him a friend.  There were no boundaries to his giving of kindness.

Steven was always a bright child (riding along in the shopping cart pronouncing the vegetables etc.) amazing passers by at an early age.  When he was about 4 years old, he attended New York City Head Start Program where he stood out as being talented beyond his years.  The administration staff at Head Start approached Staten Island Academy (a private school for talented children) to evaluate Steven.  During the interview, Steve responded to all the questions, became bored and walked around behind the evaluation team where he proceeded to read the questions, then answering them.  He was admitted on a full scholarship.

At a young age Steven had an early Apple computer and immediately demonstrated a love for computers. A couple of years later Steve and his stepfather, John, built a home computer together, which they used for several years.  We remember him sitting around reading four-inch C++ programing books as a hobby.  About age 12 he became a Boy Scout and played Baseball as a Short Stop.

As a husband, his unconditional love made it impossible to be upset with him.  His smile, his heart, his immense love and kindest, made it easy to love him.  He would do anything for his wife Sadia.  Anyone who knows them, knows you never see one without the other.  They were great together and built a wonderful life for them and their children together.

As a father, he raised four wonderful children, Brian, Sean, Stephanie and his stepson Jaden.  He was a wonderful father to his children, providing the best care and love for his kids.  He moved them from the city to give them a better life in the suburbs of Virginia. He drove them to school and picked them up from school almost every day; he provided a warm loving home.  He was a best friend and father to his children building a relationship with them as they transitioned to becoming adults.

As a friend, you could not ask for a better friend. He was a very private person and if you made it into his small circle of trust, there was nothing he wouldn’t do for the people he cared about.

He had a beautiful soul and tried to mentor and gave encouragement to many people.

Steven was preceded in death by his father, Frederick D. Austin. Steven is survived by his wife, Sadia A. Newman; parents, Bonita B. and John A. Clifton; children, Sean C. Austin (Amanda), Brian A. Austin, Stephanie A. Austin; stepson, Jaden E. Newman; aunts, Susan K. Young (Roy), Pamela Rush-Middleton, Joseph B. Rush (Carmen), David K. Carey; cousin, Sophia A. McKenzie; and a host of family and friends. The family will receive friends from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm with Steven’s funeral service starting at 12:00 pm on Saturday, March 8 at Morrissett Funeral & Cremation Service 6500 Iron Bridge Rd., N. Chesterfield, VA 23234. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the family.