Steve was born January 7th, 1948 in Altus, OK to Paul and Nell(Crow) Merida and passed away Thursday, March 16th, 2023 at home with family after a battle with cancer.

Steve spent his early years in Hollis, OK raised alongside his older brother, Boyd.  Just before he entered the third grade, the family moved to nearby Altus when Paul got a job working on the expansion of Altus AFB.

In the summers, beginning at 9 years old, Steve began working his grandfather's  farm and neighboring farms north of Hollis, chopping cotton and digging irrigation ditches.

Fourth grade brought an  introduction to football.  He liked to tell friends and family about the fierce mascot of this fourth grade team: The Eugene Field Squirrels.  He would go on to be a dominant force on the football field for Altus High School, earning All State honors as defensive tackle and receiving a full scholarship to play for Oklahoma State University.  He would accept the scholarship and play for one season.

His first son, Rhett  was born in Altus on January 1st, 1969.

Steve joined the Navy and  would serve as a flight crewman aboard the USS Inchon for approximately 1.5 years, primarily operating in the Mediterranean Sea training with allies.  Over this period he visited Greece, Italy, Turkey, France and Spain. He got out of the service in 1971.

In 1971 Steve moved to Weatherford, OK and opened a bar with his lifelong friend Mackey Carter. They named it Loose Lodge.

In 1973 Steve began working for Baroid as a drilling fluids engineer. He worked all over Oklahoma, offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and later in the Middle East where he enjoyed living in Beirut, Lebanon and Athens, Greece on his time off.  He returned to Oklahoma to be nearer his son and family.

His second son, Charlie was  born in Amarillo on February 1st, 1979.

Steve married Anita Radke on September 16th, 1989, combining families to include Anita's children, Kelly and Cody Wright.

Steve retired from the oilfield in 2001 at the age of 53.  He remained very active supporting the family businesses which included Nita's Icehouse and Professional Resources.

Steve and Anita loved the kids of the Weatherford community and treated the friends of their children as their own. If you attended Weatherford High School from 1995 to 2005, there's a good chance you occasionally spent your lunch period looking through their refrigerator.

Steve became a grandfather in 2013 when Jaylee was born. She was the light of his life in his last 10 years.

He loved to go to Mexico with his family and stroll the beach. It was his happy place.

He had a unique way of giving the people he cared for a hard time. It's one way he showed he loved you. So if he called you a funny name or picked at you a bit, you were truly special to him.

Steve Merida was our rock of consistency. He always told us not to fret, that everything would be alright. We all believed him because he always delivered and looked after each of us.

Steve is survived by his loving wife, Anita. Three sons: Rhett Merida of Weatherford; Charlie Merida of OKC; and Cody Wright of Weatherford. One daughter, Kelly Moore and husband, Jay Moore of Weatherford. One granddaughter, Jaylee Moore of Weatherford.  He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother.