Stephen Richard Castleton

Stephen Richard Castleton was born May 18th, 1947 in SLC, UT and died at 78 years old on July 18th, 2025. He was at home with his wife Donna when he passed and his last words were telling her a joke.

Stephen’s childhood was spent roaming around the largely undeveloped Holladay area. Reading, exploring, fishing, and caring for his 6 siblings were his top priorities. He was deeply shy and deeply curious. He loved to learn and continued to do so till the day he died.

After graduating from Olympus High School in 1965, Stephen entered the Navy at 18 years old. He was stationed in San Diego where he studied electrical engineering. Later, he was stationed in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor and spent months at sea on the U.S.S. Plunger, an nuclear attack submarine. With his shipmates, he traveled as far east as Japan and the Philippines.

After being honorably discharged from the Navy, Stephen returned stateside with his wife Patricia, and grew a pony tail. When he landed again in Utah, he dove headfirst into school, fly-fishing, camping and everything nature, especially trips to Fish Lake . Stephen was the best person to go on hikes with as he knew the Latin names of the surrounding plants and animals, and their role in the ecosystem.  He also began building computers which would later develop into a career in medical engineering.

In 1983 he met Donna at a bar in downtown Salt Lake. He quickly fell in love with her, and her daughter Amanda. It was then that he knew he wanted to be a family man. They would marry the following year, and began a loving 42 year partnership. When Samantha was born he took on a new role as her best friend and biggest fan.

Reading, bird watching, growing herbs/veggies, and cooking became his full time job after retirement as a computer engineer for MicroCore. To keep himself busy he began working with his best friend Bill doing finish carpentry, and so, his tool collection grew. Stephen loved to build things and set about renovating his and Donna’s house, room by room, over the next several decades. He finished the last project in the fall of 2024 with help from his son in law to be Jon, who we lovingly call “Stephen 2.0”

Stephen was a man of strong character, devotion, and integrity. He balanced opinions with compassion but was stubborn too. He liked consistency and predictability, but had a  surprisingly witty sense of humor. Will miss everything about Stephen, but how much he loved his family is what we’ll miss the most.

Stephen is preceded in death by his parents Jean and Richard Castleton, as well as his brothers: Gary, Mark, Roger, and Scott.
He is survived by his wonderful wife Donna, step-daughter Amanda (Johnn, Sawyer, Phoebe), daughter Samantha (Jon, Oliver, Emory, Murphy), two sisters Suzanne (Doug) and Becky, and his dogs Willow and Ginger.

He leaves behind a beautiful garden and a bunch of humming bird feeders, whose tiny patrons will remind his family everyday to live with curiosity and compassion for the world around them.

A celebration of life will be held August 14, 2025 from 6-8 at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 South 900 East, Salt Lake City, UT.  Guests are encouraged to use the parking and entrance on the north side of the building.

In leiu of flowers consider a donation in his name to The Nature Conservancy or Best Friends Animal Society