Stephen Edward Atwood

Stephen (Steve) Edward Atwood, of Baxter, Iowa, passed away after a hard-fought 77-day battle with cancer, on Thursday, December 25, 2025, at the age of 78, peacefully at home. A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m., Sunday, January 4, 2026, at Palo Alto Cemetery. A celebration of Steve’s life will follow at the Izaak Walton League in Newton. Memorials in Steve’s name can be brought to the services or left at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory in Newton. Please make checks payable to Sharon Atwood.

Steve was born June 6th of 1947, to Victor Charles & Edith Eldora (Halbloom) Atwood. He was the youngest of 4 sons.

Early in life, Steve learned that life is hard. At the age of 2 he contracted Polio & endured several surgeries on his right foot, continuing through his high school years. He lost his mother, Edith, at the age of 12 to cancer. To help ease the pain he was given a young horse, Buckshot, to ride & train. Thus, the beginning of his love of horses. If not riding his horse, he could be found hunting & camping with his cousin Robert.

Steve was a 1965 graduate of Newton High School.

Steve married his high school sweetheart, Sharon Burkland, June 14th, 1968. While dating, Steve & Sharon would often spend time enjoying the outdoors & shooting archery. Their love for the outdoors & horses was later shared with their 3 daughters, Teresa, Edie & Stacie.

Right out of high school, Steve worked at One Hour Martinizing, a short time later he was employed by Maytag Company from 1966 through his retirement in June of 1992. He worked in various departments including Dryer, Dishwasher & Porcelain, where he was an inspector & repairman. He had a strong work ethic; he hardly ever missed a day of work. He retired after 26.5 years when the company offered early retirement. He raised his daughters to be independent, hardworking, strong women. He taught them how to drive a manual transmission, change a starter & fix a flat tire. When it was horse show season for the family, he would help design the riding outfits for the girls. He made sure the saddles were cinched up & all tack was in good shape. Steve was a kid at heart. He thoroughly loved holidays. He would, on occasion, go to Missouri with friends to buy fireworks for his July 4th celebration. Steve always made sure to get Sharon, their girls & granddaughters each a box of chocolates for Valentines Day. Thanksgiving he would insist on the biggest turkey & ham they could find. He loved Christmas so much that he would always instigate letting the girls open a gift or two early.

Steve shared his Rules for Life with his family and friends.

In the summer of 1991, Steve & his family moved to the acreage in between Newton & Baxter. He loved the acreage and took pride in keeping it looking nice. He especially enjoyed his firepit, where he could start a fire with anything. He spent countless hours sitting by the fire watching his caveman tv. What Steve enjoyed most was hosting cookouts with his family & friends at his firepit where he’d cook his special baked beans. When he wasn’t mowing, he was cutting or splitting wood. He didn’t use a log splitter, his wood was split by hand, even up to his diagnosis in October. If you knew Steve, you knew he didn’t tolerate slackers, he expected others to work as hard as he did.

Throughout his life, Steve enjoyed woodworking & problem solving. He was always great with numbers and math. After retirement, Steve helped build 2 houses, which he loved doing. Family & friends kept him busy with many home projects in addition to building & refinishing furniture over the years.

From his thirties on, Steve did crossword puzzles. He religiously did the Newton Daily News & the Sunday Des Moines Register puzzles. Over the almost 50 years he wore out a few crossword dictionaries & finished countless crossword books. He loved old western tv shows and movies.

Later in life, Steve gave up hunting & started helping Sharon with wildlife rehabilitation, where he helped with orphaned fawns, owls and numerous other animals. Steve had several pets over the years, some of them being very special to him including his English Mastiff, Toots, his Pug, Spud and his farm cats.

What Steve enjoyed most was spending time with his family & friends. No matter what he was doing, he typically had his signature toothpick in the corner of his mouth.

Steve leaves behind his devoted wife of 57 ½ years, Sharon; three daughters, Teresa (Brad) Arrowood, of Newton, Edie (Michael) Hatcher, of Grinnell, Stacie Madole (Tim) of Newton; 9 grandchildren, Jacob (fiancée Mya) Arrowood of Newton, Lane (Bella) Arrowood of Newton, Morgan Arrowood of Newton, Mikayla Hatcher of Pella, Sydney (fiancée John) Hatcher of Hannibal, Missouri, Abbie Hatcher of Grinnell, Mason Hatcher of Grinnell, Samantha Madole of Boone & Drew Madole of Newton; Brother-in-law Bruce (Cheryl) Burkland of Prairie City; along with several cousins, nieces and nephews.

Steve was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, Richard (Phyllis) Atwood, Kenneth (Mary) Atwood, Victor Atwood; twin sisters in infancy Marilyn Atwood, Carolyn Atwood; Stepmother Mable Atwood; In-laws Charles & Arlenna Burkland; and many close friends & family.