Steven William Sweeney, 62, of Sheboygan, passed away peacefully Monday, November 5 th at Sharon S.
Richardson Hospice Center after a hard-fought battle with prostate cancer.
Steve was born on June 1, 1956 in Gardena, California to Stuart “Bud” and Patricia Sweeney. In 1958,
the family moved back to Plymouth, WI to take over the Baker family farm. Steve attended the public
schools in Plymouth, where he was often known as the class clown. In high school, he was a member of
band and art club. Playing drums was a lifelong passion of his; a love he passed on to both his sons. He
graduated from high school in 1974.
After high school, he worked as an auto body detailer. He loved painting cars. He married Barbara
Bergman (nee Haumschild) on July 12, 1980. His first daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1981. Steve
earned an Associate Degree in Applied Arts: Power- Electrical from Lakeshore Technical Institute in
1985. His first son, Patrick, was born in 1986. With his new degree, he went to work for Wisconsin
Power and Light, which later became Alliant Energy. He worked there until retiring after 33 years of
service. In 1992, Steve married Bonnie Nemetz (nee Patt). That year he had a son, Ryan. In 1995 a
daughter, Jenna, was born.
Steven met his fiancé, Christine Renzelmann in 2013. They loved to travel together, and enjoyed many
adventures and live concerts. They adopted two rescue dogs, Trixie and Murray. Christine was his love,
his best friend, and at the end the most wonderful caregiver he could have asked for.
Family was the most important to Steve. He cherished time spent with his parents and siblings. He
especially enjoyed an Old Glory Honor Flight he went on with his father and hero, Bud Sweeney. This
Honor Flight brought them to Pearl Harbor for the 70 th anniversary. Steve loved being a father, and he
was a great one. He was always there for his four kids, who have many fond memories of their dad,
especially fishing and golfing with him.
Steve will be remembered most for his sense of humor and generous heart. He was always more
concerned with everyone else than he was with himself. Even the day before he passed away, he was
not thinking of himself, but asking if everyone else was going to be okay.
Steven is survived by his fiancé, Christine Renzelmann; four children, Elizabeth (Neil) Peterson, Patrick
Sweeney, Ryan Sweeney, Jenna Sweeney; three grandchildren Oliver, Isadora, and Adalyn; three
siblings, John (Joy) Sweeney, Cathy (Dean) Schiavone, and Carol (Larry) Shaffield, an aunt, Mary (Ken)
Engle, and lifelong friends, John and Deb Stoll, Mark and Ramona Stoll, and Roger and Mary Bennett.
His parents Bud and Pat Sweeney preceded him in death.
The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to all the wonderful medical staff who cared for
him, especially Dr. Kumar and the staff at Vince Lombardi Cancer Center, Dr. Mirza and the 2K nursing
staff at Memorial Hospital, and finally the nursing staff at Sharon S. Richardson Hospice Center.
Visitation will be held at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church (2133 North 22nd Street, Sheboygan) on Friday,
November 9 th from 9-11 am. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held there at 11 am and committal at St.
John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery in Plymouth will follow immediately.
In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made in Steve’s name to Old Glory Honor Flight
(http://www.oldgloryhonorflight.org/) or Tracy’s Dogs (https://www.tracysdogs.com/).
