Posted by Rick Sinnreich on October 31, 2021:

My friend and fellow Soc Department alumnus died the way he lived - a class act. Step was always just a little eccentric in the best possible meaning of the word. Ironic where he himself was concerned, he was generous to a fault with others' peculiarities, whether in argument or in grammar. It was entirely characteristic of him to end his final message with a grammatical admonition, just as it was characteristic of him to want to pass from the scene with as little fuss as possible. My favorite Step story was of his Weimaraner, Wolfi, which he left behind with his wife and mother-in-law when he deployed from Fort Bragg. During his absence, perhaps intimidated by Wolfi's 100 lbs, they spoiled the dog mercilessly (to the extent, according to Step, of buttering his dog biscuits because "they seemed so dry"). When Step returned home and tried to make Wolfi eat kibble, the dog responded by carrying his dish into the living room, putting it down at Step's feet, then peeing all over it. Step divested himself of the dog. My other favorite story, at which I personally was present, was an exchange one Saturday between Step and Jack Jacobs in Thayer Hall's first floor men's room, where the two took turns critiquing each other's sartorial splendor in the manner of a fashion runway announcer. And who of us who served in the department with Step can forget the Republica de Santa Banana and its ruler Don Carlos Golpe de Estado? The truth is, Saint Elmo Parlette Tyner was one of a kind, and we will not see his like again, more's the pity. Enjoy that stool at Fiddler's Green, Step. You earned it.

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