Steven Eichelberger, M.D.

My Life Story Steven Elmo Eichelberger, M.D. died at his home in Kuna near midnight on July 30, 2015, of melanoma. He was born June 15, 1958, Fathers’ Day, the youngest of eight children. He attended Kuna schools and graduated at the top of his class in 1976. He earned his undergraduate degree in physics at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. He and Meg were married thereafter. He worked for 8 years for the James C. White Company in Greenville, working his way up from broom boy to mechanical engineer. Steve entered medical school in 1985 at the MUSC in Charleston. After residency at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Virginia and flight school in Pensacola, FL, he served as a Navy flight surgeon for VMO-1 stationed at Camp Lejeune, NC. He was able to travel extensively, play golf constantly, solo in a Cessna, and work with fine, admirable people during that time. He left the service in 1993 to return to the family farm in Kuna because he missed the mountains, the crisp air, and the clear, wide Idaho skies. It was important to him for his children to be brought up as 4th generation Idahoans. An accomplished woodworker and infallible handyman, Steve built his house himself. Typical of his approach are the wood floors in his house, which are made from locust trees originally planted by his grandfather as a windbreak. Steve built a sawmill from spare parts found around the farm, cut the locust into boards, and built a kiln in the old milking barn to dry the wood. He ran each inch-thick board through the planer seven times, and he installed, sanded and finished the floor himself. More recently he built a beautiful deck dock on his land by the Indian Creek and finished it with steps made from salvaged concrete to facilitate the swimmers. Steve leaves behind his wife, Meg, and three children: Will, 24, Ellen, 21, and Amy, 17. Six siblings—Lee, Janet, Clinton, Suzanne, David and Nancy—their families, and his parents, Ralph and Alice, survive him as well. He was preceded in death by his older brother Dean, who died in 2013, also of melanoma. Steve worked for 21 years as an urgent care physician at Primary Health on Fairview in Meridian. Steve, an inveterate athlete, was a fervent golfer. He loved Redfish Lake and the beauty of the farmland in Kuna. The family dogs always liked him best. Slow to words and quick to puns, he had more superfluous knowledge about black holes, quantum physics, mathematics, pop culture, sports, and a stunning spectrum of other topics than anyone would think possible—more, honestly, than necessary. He was also, without reflecting any personal bias whatsoever, the best dad in the whole entire world. His children were his main passion, and he was completely proud of and nuts about each of them. A service will be held Monday, August 3, 2015, at 2:00PM at the Kuna Baptist Church, and burial will be at the Kuna Cemetery immediately after the funeral. The family requests that instead of flowers, donations be directed in Dr. Eichelberger’s name to the Boise Rescue Mission or to Karcher Church of the Nazarene’s Youth Ministry. Remembrances may be left for the family at www.AccentFuneral.com. Services are under the direction of Accent Funeral Home.