I just found out that Steve Swor, one of my friends from the radio station, killed himself last week. They found him in his truck in a closed garage on May 15th. He was 38 years old.

I haven’t seen Steve since Annie and I left Ellensburg a few years ago, but we’d been keeping up on him through Eric and Jill. They would tell us that they’d just heard from him, stomping around in the jungles in South America, or visiting family up in Alaska. He had mentioned several times that he wanted to come through Portland to visit, and we were toying with the idea of doing another radio play with him.

I hope no one thinks this is disrespectful, but Steve will always be “Uncle Scotchy” to me. He got the nickname after splitting a bottle with me at a Robbie Burn’s night party at Eric and Jill’s one year. At the radio station, he was legendary for his deep, gravelly voice. I’m sure anyone else who heard that voice would agree that he had a truly sexy on-air persona. He always had a smile on his face and it seemed like he was constantly off to one party or another.

Here’s to you, Steve. You can be sure we’ll be tipping a glass in your memory every year.

Update: Steve’s sister just sent me these two extra photos of Steve. Thank you!