Steven Dale Douds

Steven Dale Douds
June 3, 1946 – February 23, 2016
Steven Dale Douds was born on June 3, 1946 in Hannibal, Missouri to Charles and Betty (Eller) Douds. He passed away in his home in Boise, Idaho on March 7, 2017. He grew up in Republic, Missouri close to his grandparents, Francis and Alice Douds where he learned the skills of survival by hunting and fishing. His Father worked for the railroad, so he lived in several places across the west before landing in Boise, Idaho. Somewhere along his journey as a youth learned to play the guitar. Boise is where he settled down at age 20 by getting married Judy Fredenhagen (f.1966-t.1988) and two weeks before his 22 birthday became a father for the first of three. To support his growing family, he started working as a technician for 3M Finch-Brown servicing equipment around southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. He was also part of the Idaho Air National guard rising to the rank of Sargent before discharging serving from 1963-1969. After hearing from his 7 year old son that he wanted to be a fireman, he must have thought he heard that his son wanted him to become a fireman. So, he joined the Whitney Fire Department as volunteer firefighter. Later, he joined the department as a paid firefighter. With his strive to achieve more, he rose in the fire service through the ranks of engineer to fire investigator. With the fire service changing in the 80’s, the medical side started to interest him. So a career move was in order and he joined the Ada County Paramedics as an EMT and soon thereafter as a paramedic through is persistence of knowledge and passing the state board governed by doctors at the time. He spent more than 15 years as a paramedic, but in the middle of this time took a brief break from it to pursue another passion that he picked up for photography by starting his own studio on Orchard Avenue. During his time as a paramedic he was a member of Poison Control and served as president. On his return to being a paramedic, he met his life companion and soon thereafter wife Sandee Christensen. After Sandee finished her nursing degree, they both looked to warmer weather and landed in Mesa, Arizona. Both worked for the same hospital as well as the same shift schedule. After a few years and wanting to be closer to children and grandchildren, they moved back to Boise again. Steve is preceded in death by his parents Charles and Betty, brother Darrel and wife Sandee. He is survived by his three siblings, Gary, Peggy and Timothy, his three children Anthony, Kimberly and Stephanie, his step children Kurt, Kimberly, Wade and Cory, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. A celebration of life service will be held at the Cloverdale Funeral Home, 1200 N. Cloverdale Road, Boise Idaho at 11am on Friday, March 17, 2017, please join us and share your fond memories. Donations in Steve’s name can be made to your local animal humane society.