Stephen Wayne "Steve" Laws

On Thursday, July 18, 2024, our beloved father Stephen Wayne Laws (age 76) passed away in his home surrounded by his loving family and joined his beautiful wife in heaven.

Steve was born on July 7, 1948, in Alexandria, LA. His family lived briefly in Lake Charles before settling in Monroe, where he graduated from Neville High School and went on to attend Northeast Louisiana University (now ULM). At Northeast, he was active in the ROTC program and earned both a Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music Education. After marrying his high school sweetheart, Lee, he began service in the United States Army. During his 20-year military career, he attained the rank of major and received many awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal and the Army Commendation Medal (1st Oak Leaf Cluster). Specializing in Armor, his military career took his family to seven places before settling in Huntsville, AL, in 1990. After his retirement from the U. S. Army, Steve’s love of technology drove his continued work in the defense industry as a software developer until he retired in 2018. In his retirement, he enjoyed spending time with his family across the South, traveling with his camper, working with computers and other technology, and investigating military history.

A devout Roman Catholic and active parishioner at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Steve was a person of great faith and dedicated to serving others, as demonstrated by his committed membership in the Knights of Columbus. As a founding member of Knights of Columbus Council 11672, he reached the level of Fourth Degree Knight and served as both Grand Knight and Faithful Navigator. His legacy will live on in the KoC Lenten fish frys and monthly pancake breakfasts that he helped institute (and where he taught many people to burn bacon).

Steve will be remembered as reliable, trustworthy, resilient, and patriotic. He often had a joke or a hug for those who needed them. He was always eager to share his lifelong passion for music with those he loved the most, spending many hours at concerts with his wife and “Jammin’” with his grandchildren, and he passed on his love of good food, sweet treats, and LSU and New Orleans Saints football to everyone he met. A man of many facets, he could be both caring and stern, gentle and fierce, reserved and engaged, and always a true friend because he was a friend to many. He was a proud and loving father and grandfather and a dedicated member of his community, and his presence will be greatly missed.

Steve is survived by his children Dawn DeBacker Young (Corby), Stephen Laws II (Inna), Amanda “Mandy” Hughes (Vance), Megan Sharp (Ryan), and Michael Laws; grandchildren Kendall Young Hallford (Drew), Christopher Laws (Megan), Alexander DeBacker, Mackenzie Young, Sophie Celeste Hughes, Xavier Hughes, Jackson Sharp, Devin Sharp, and Declan Sharp; great-grandchildren Thomas DeBacker, Jesse Laws, Sydney DeBacker, and Rowan Hallford; and brother David, as well as a large and beloved extended family. He was preceded in death by his cherished wife of nearly 48 years, Avelie Marie “Lee” (Boudreaux) Laws; and his parents, Charles Homer Laws and Ruby Lee (Johnston) Laws.

In Huntsville, the visitation will be held from 5-6:30 p.m., Monday, July 22, 2024, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church followed by a eulogy and praying of the rosary. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Good Shepherd at 10 a.m., Tuesday, July 23, 2024, with a reception to follow in the parish hall. Livestreaming of these services will be available both Monday night and Tuesday morning via Good Shepherd’s Facebook page.

Additional services in his hometown of Monroe, LA, will include a visitation from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., Thursday, July 25, 2024, at Mulhearn Funeral Home, 2308 Sterlington Rd., Monroe, LA. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church at 10:00 a.m., Friday, July 26, 2024, followed immediately by graveside services and interment at Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery, where he will be laid to rest with his beloved wife and parents. A reception at the church will follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Steve’s name to the American Cancer Society and Catholic Charities USA.