Stephen Kerwick
January 14, 1952 ~ November 24, 2022
Stephen Kerwick, 70, Partner at Foulston Siefkin Law Firm, died Thursday, November 24, 2022. Visitation will be from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Sunday, December 4, 2022; Memorial Service will be at 2:00 pm, Monday, December 5, 2022, both at Downing & Lahey East Mortuary.
Stephen Michael Kerwick was born on January 14, 1952 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Edward Thomas and Anne Marie (Muller) Kerwick. He graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School, Philadelphia, in 1969 and LaSalle University, Philadelphia in 1973. He served in the United States Army from 1973 to 1978, followed by service in the Kansas National Guard until he was honorably discharged in 1983. He graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1981 and entered employment at Foulston, Siefkin LLP that year. He was made partner of the firm in 1986 and remained there for over 30 years until his retirement. In 1985 he married Teresa Roll, a fellow law student. His interests were varied and eccentric, ranging from professional wrestling to opera.
Preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Anne Kerwick. He is survived by his wife, Teresa; his sister, Christine Wiker; brother, Philip Kerwick; brother and sister-in law, Les and Mary Ann Burns; nieces, Stephanie Kerwick, Ann Kathleen Billings (Richard), Leslie Burns Campbell (Dustin), Margaret Burns Perez (Luis); and nephews, Ronald Kerwick, and A.J. Burns.
A memorial has been established with: Starkey Foundation, 4500 W. Maple, Wichita, KS 67209; and Kansas Humane Society, 3313 N. Hillside, Wichita, KS 67219.
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Myself and my husband became friends with Steve on fb a number of years ago through the Kerwick name, the resemblance to my husband’s family was uncanny, we got to meet Steve and Teresa at the end of March this year in London and had a lovely evening together, RIP Steve , it was great knowing you, lots of hugs Teresa x
So sorry to hear about Steve. Thinking of you Teresa.
Steve was a good friend and always willing to help with any kind of legal issue. I always looked forward to his war stories or any other story he had on his mind–and there were many. I will miss him.
I’m very sorry to hear about Steve. My thoughts are with you Teresa. Steve and I joined Foulston Siefkin in 1981 as part of a three lawyer “class”. Steve was a brilliant person, a history buff, and had a keen wit and sense of humor. He loved to converse about just about anything, and delighted in dropping some “bait” into a conversation to see if anyone would take it – always with a twinkle in his eyes. Here’s an example of Steve’s wit that I still chuckle about occasionally to this day. I looked out my law office window one day and saw that the Plymouth Congregational Church building on the east horizon had caught fire. I took advantage of the then new e-mail technology to tell everyone in the firm simply: “Plymouth Congregational Church is on fire”. Within seconds, Steve replied to all: “Literally or metaphorically?” Steve was one of a kind, and will surely be missed.
I know that he made Theresa happy. That’s a good man.
As his niece I remember him from a very young age. My sense of humor has never been the same, and for that I am grateful. He taught us to laugh, and when laughed it was almost like watching Santa chuckle. His love of stupid shows like Bevis and Butthead, Ren and Stimpy, Southpark, etc. connected us. Most of all I admired his intelligence, independence, patience, and kindness. I’ve never known a soul quite like him. Thank you for the memories uncle Steve. You will be missed
Gosh, Steve was such a bright and unique personality. Things people might not have known about Steve include his generosity and compassion. Every Christmas, he tipped the cleaning staff. Who else does that? Years ago, my father died shortly before Christmas, and it was Steve and Teresa who asked me to their house for Christmas dinner the first year after he died, knowing I would be sad if I was alone so soon after losing him. He was triple or quadruple eligible for MENSA; he was a brilliant and engaging brief writer; and his love of the comic and profane was truly legendary. When he did case summaries at various CLEs, he always brought the house down. He had a knack for finding cases that were weird, funny, or outrageous, and presenting the holdings of those cases in a deadpan fashion that just cracked everyone up. The crowds at the CLEs loved his presentations. I often thought, listening to him, that he would have made a great law professor. He was a cat person–and unashamed of it. After he retired, he would sometimes stop by the office to visit and tell stories about traveling across the country by train. I imagine Steve would have met a million people in the observation cars on those trips, and fascinated them all–in part because he found other people fascinating, and who doesn’t respond to that? You know in the cooking magazines they ask people who they would have dinner with if they could pick anyone, dead or alive, to have dinner with. I would pick Steve Kerwick, Tim Mustaine, Jim Goering, and Wyatt Wright to have dinner with, one last time.