Thomas Stevens "Steve" Spruth

Thomas Stevens Spruth (aka Steve), died peacefully in Minneapolis March 9, 2023, surrounded by his loving family and his favorite music.

Steve was born in Pittsburgh, PA to Thomas Keener Spruth and Susan Ann Stevens. He went by his mother’s maiden name to step out of his father’s shadow. His father worked for Pennsylvania Bell and the family followed him in his career changes, moving around often to most (if not all) of the medium to large cities in the state. While Steve was frustrated with the frequent changes in schools and friendships, one constant in each location was a wild space at the edge of the suburban lots they lived in, where he cultivated a love of bugs, critters, and the earth’s beauty. His family fostered this as well, taking camping trips and fishing, as his father was a devoted angler. They would visit friends living on the beloved Antes Creek near Williamsport and later the beautiful Big Hole River in Montana. In those experiences, he learned how to think like a fish, feeling the cold-water swirl around his hip boots.

His mother taught him the joys of downhill skiing and would take the kids out of school if there was a good snowfall, which he loved. He also shared in her passion for art as she took him to museums at an early age and absorbed her good advice that “nothing gets solved after 10:00pm at night.” He would continue to be active all his life, running, biking, skiing, hiking, and doing yoga. Steve started yoga to help heal a running injury, but it became a strong life influence for him. He practiced it daily, took two weekly classes for years, retreats and trained to eventually teach classes himself. In his final months he reflected on an admonition from his favorite instructor’s guided meditation where she would comment that we would all someday need to “let go” of our breath.

Steve graduated with honors from Conestoga High School in Berwyn, PA, where he ran cross country and played trumpet in the marching band (once performing in the famous Mummers Day Parade in Philadelphia). He worked in a box factory that summer, and then started Brown University in Providence Rhode Island, the school where both of his parents had studied. At Brown, Steve rowed crew, formed life-long friendships, and was influenced by a favorite professor, who exposed him to Buber’s I and Thou, which colored his impression of how to treat people – essentially seeing everyone as holy. Steve increased this profs’ reach and influence by encouraging friends to take his signature year-long interdisciplinary course; the course had a profound effect on several, with whom Steve would discuss the important readings and ideas presented. These philosophical discussions, along with playing Frisbee on The Green, listening to Steely Dan and drinking rudimentary cocktails, were the crucible of many a long-term friendship. During his junior year, a chance computer housing placement put him in the same dorm as the incredible Frances Durkin, who would go on to share his life so deeply.

He studied Biology at Brown, with the thought of becoming a doctor, no doubt influenced by his grandfather, who was an orthopedic surgeon, (John B Stevens). But after being advised by a Dean at Brown, his Uncle John (a hospital administrator) and a family friend, he decided to consider other work where he could grapple with the complex systems issues of health care provision. Steve trained and worked as an EMT driving ambulances junior year and he was struck by the varying levels of care of the nursing homes and hospitals he saw in urban Rhode Island. The HMO “movement” was nascent, and he was intrigued to be a part of it. He switched his major to “Health in Society” and never looked back.

Steve’s first job was with Prudential Insurance Company, who was beginning to set up HMO’s nationally. He worked for them in Newark NJ, then moved to Atlanta GA where he did marketing, although many of the business owners he pitched believed this was “socialized” medicine. Steve persevered with the idea that health care should be accessible and affordable. After two years there, he left for grad school at Yale, intrigued by the possibilities of the relatively new School of Management and finished with a master’s degree in public and private management. Steve was then hired by Peak Health, a small, growing HMO in Colorado Springs, inspired by some of his mentors at Prudential. After just a short time with Peak in Colorado, he was asked to go to Boise ID to start the state’s first HMO and Peak Health of ID soon opened its doors for business thanks to Steve’s efforts.

During these early years in Steve’s higher education and career he would fit in travel and new experiences. He met friends to hike in Washington state and along the eastern Appalachian Trail. He would reconnect with Frances many times including a summer with her in Caracas, Venezuela. He was interested in a plethora of different topics and always yearning to learn. A friend in Venezuela asked once, “who is this guy who seems to know about everything?!” when Steve offered up pertinent facts about beekeeping. Frances eventually joined Steve full-time in Boise where they lived in a sweet yellow house with a young feline, Kitty-Cat, surrounded by the brown, fuzzy mountains where they would bike, hike, ski and Steve ran the “Race to Robie Creek. They were married on June 21,1986, with celebrations in New York and Idaho. The couple joked that they “divorced” two or three times before getting married as they both explored their young adult lives.

After getting Peak Health going in Idaho, Steve had a difficult assignment to close a failing HMO in Phoenix AZ. It meant sharing the news with the employees at that location, as well as shifting people's health care and dealing with tough complications that came with it. He often referred to that period as “our desert experience.” Determined to make a more thoughtful decision about their next city to live in, Steve and Frances chose Minneapolis, liking the fact that the location had a good childcare system, now the focus of Frances’ career and Peak had been bought by United Health Group which is based in Minnesota. They drove north with a meowing cat and lived downtown before finding their forever home on Aldrich Avenue. The family grew with Henry arriving in 1990 and John in 1992.

Steve loved being a dad. He was fully invested in the day-to-day caregiving and was never happier than when “rack-attacking” (wrestling) with them on the rug or reading to them in the big blue chair at bedtime. He taught them to cross country ski, how to pick themselves up and the important lesson that every successful outing should end with a stop for ice cream. He and Jack planned a long-distance bike ride from Minneapolis to Chicago summer of 2008, with Henry and Frances joining in at the end. Perhaps inspired by an old double bass Steve had picked up in Colorado, Henry decided at an early age to pursue the instrument. Steve was thrilled, playing “bass sherpa” for years every Saturday to music lessons.

Their lives were busy and full in their south Minneapolis neighborhood where they formed devoted friendships over the years through longtime gatherings and walks with new families who had recently moved in next door. Steve loved the camaraderie of being with others in group settings, challenging himself and prodding others to grow and change. He was involved with his beloved Men’s group, relished (almost) every book read through his Noodlemen book club, and explored the crevices of marriage in Heart to Hearth get-togethers. He and Frances facilitated a new parent’s group through MELD (after going through the experience themselves), met to play music regularly with other families and he helped lead book studies through his church. Highlights of the year were always the trip to Camp duNord Y camp with other families each February and the annual Christmas broomball game organized by Henry. After Steve’s diagnosis, he was an active member of Gilda’s Club, a support group for those living with cancer, and derived community and meaning from his weekly meetings on Zoom.

Steve worked in various capacities at UHG for 12 years. He then left to do consulting for Medtronic, SleepNumber Bed and worked for the LTCG of California, setting up a new long term care service allowing seniors to stay in their own homes. With two small children at home and wanting to have less work travel, Steve followed up with a want ad that Frances noticed in the Star Tribune looking for someone at the Carlson School of Management to teach “Intro to Business Management.” Thus closed his 20 years in Health Care Management and opened the beginning of his teaching career, first as a periodic lecturer and eventually as Senior Lecturer in the Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship department.

Carlson was the perfect fit and allowed him the ability to share his experiences with a new generation of business leaders. He loved challenging students and inspiring them to connect to what they were passionate about. He connected students from different departments, teaming business students with design students on one occasion in a cross departmental class. For birthdays and holidays, his family members would often be gifted many of the innovative projects these teams of students dreamed up.

When online teaching was introduced, he was early to experiment with it, and was able to fulfill his dream of living abroad inspired by Frances’ international experiences. The family lived in Barcelona, Spain for a year in 2001-02 and then for 6 months in Shanghai three years later. That overseas experience gave him the confidence to set up international classes for his students, bringing students to China, Brazil and then Cuba. In all he led 23 different classes abroad. Frances shifted her work schedule to be able to participate in the Brazil and Cuba experiences, and the couple had many of their best moments combining their love of exploration, developing curriculum experiences, connecting with students, and developing networks of colleagues during this period. These courses led to new long-term friendships and invitations to visit Bhutan, help a Cuban historian settle into an apartment in Madison WI, visit the opening of a new hospital in Dalian, China and a visit to Africa through the Land of Lakes Foundation.

Seeing the huge difference in student participation, connection, and the energy which resulted from taking students out of the country encouraged Steve to create similar educational experiences locally. He piloted a class using water policy decisions along the Mississippi over the history of the city of Minneapolis to anchor the learning in a entrepreneurship class. He partnered with Wilderness Inquiry to take the students down the river in giant canoes, camping overnight on islands sacred to the Dakota to foster environmental awareness, connect them more meaningfully to each other and imagine how their decisions as business people will impact our local natural resources. He loved connecting his students in the capstone class of the non-profit major with local organizations they could consult with. Never one to shy from the difficult decisions that come from politically fraught topics, Steve’s unfinished dream was to do a similar course in Northern Minnesota addressing the question of mining expansion in the Boundary Waters area, with the goal of hearing from a variety of stakeholders there and attempt to balance business needs and responsibilities.

Steve’s decision to sell his car and become a bike commuter was driven by his motivation to be seen as credible by his students. He knew he couldn’t, in good conscience, suggest they examine their own carbon footprint in their lives and business decisions without doing the same himself and leading by example.

Steve relished his role as mentor to students and young entrepreneurs – he made his Fridays open not only to current but past students who would fill that day sharing their next venture ideas and seek support and feedback. He participated in Carlson’s Undergraduate Mentor Program (PDFMP) and the MENTTIUM mentorship program for young execs in the Twin Cities and delighted in these relationships. Even after his cancer diagnosis he worked closely with a former student on a business venture about which he was passionate in the Covid Age – producing a high quality, innovative mask, the Breathe99. In his typical way, he talked about the project enough that soon several of his friends were sporting the mask as well as all his family members.

Steve received his cancer diagnosis on his birthday in 2019. Once he knew how it was going to be treated, he shared the news with others. In his view, he knew there was no “battling cancer.” There was only outwitting it (via the amazing amount of recent research) to add another short time of living. He talked about his image of riding the waves of the new research, getting another 6-9 months out of each new treatment. He found joy in a smaller life – his exploration of cities around the world were replaced with his daily walks and bikes to Lake Harriet, Minnehaha Creek, the Rose Garden or the Washburn water tower. He found awe, joy, and serenity in observing the architecture, birds, plant changes and gardens along the way. He also worked on jigsaw puzzles, followed the Tour de France, and watched the Bicycle Film Festival online.

Which is not to say that he didn’t get on a plane -- early on he researched what (warm weather) city had the cleanest air in the continental US, settling on the tiny barrier island town of Melbourne beach FL for two trips. He squeezed in three visits out to his cabin in Montana and a trip to Hawaii April of 2022, where he climbed to the summit of Diamond Head Crater, a desire he had from an earlier trip to the city. Other than that moment in Hawaii, he never mentioned any other “bucket list” challenges.

Steve’s appetite for music was legendary. He appreciated everything from Lizzo to Gershwin, Prince to the Dead and loved to read about musicians and watch documentaries about their work during his last years. He found comfort in music he played throughout each day and would frequently have tears in his eyes in the last few years while listening to his favorite songs

Steve was innovating until the end – during his early February hospitalization he talked of wanting to get the UofM design students involved with the University hospital to redesign the hopelessly immobile patient trays to something nimbler – and to come up with a way that the patient/nurse call button could be more easily connected to the hospital bed (and not be flopping around and so easily lost/tangled with the other tubes connected to him.)

Likewise, his mentoring/inspiration instincts never left him – when a nurse mentioned that she did not have an entrepreneurial bone in her body, he firmly begged to differ – pointing out that she had rigged up a way to anchor the call button using a tongue depressor and stretchy tape to the railing on the bed. “I believe that anyone who sees something that’s not working and digs deep using the tools they have to make a change for the better, is an entrepreneur.”

A teacher/people connector till the end – he listened and sobbed with Carmen, an aide who was with him the night he got a new delicate infusion hearing about the fact that her father had died in the same hospital bed he now lay in. He told her he felt like she was the perfect person to oversee his condition. He coached aide Ernestine on how to take her artisan projects to the next level. He stopped and schooled the Nursing training supervisor about how she must impress upon her students the importance of truly connecting with their patients, he stopped on his walker with the PT to share his ideas and opinions about the proposed Fairview/Sanford merger.

Was this boy from Pennsylvania, who always felt a little out of place from his upbringing, the “new” kid at every school, perhaps also a little bit too “academic” for the business world and a little bit too “business” for the academic world? Perhaps he found his sweet spot joy in curiosity and simple human connection. Steve’s qualities of listening carefully, having compassion, enjoying, and supporting others’ successes, openness to new ideas and opinions will live on in all who knew and loved him. His willingness to talk to all and derive sustenance from their stories and dreams was present in his last days in the hospital – where he would routinely query the aides and staff about their lives, their goals and connect around the importance of their work in the world.

Steve was surrounded by his loving family with his favorite playlist streaming when he quietly took his “let go” breath. It was fitting that in his final moments, “I’ll Be There” by the Jackson Five was filling the room.

Steve leaves an enriched but heart broken community of friends and family, his wife, Frances, his sons, Henry Durkin and John Barthley, his brother, David, and sister Karen (John Baynes) his Spruth, Dunn, Stevens, Romano, and Clifford nephews, nieces and cousins, his friends near and far, colleagues, students, neighbors, group members and friends, and his beloved cats Sam and Squeaks who kept him company in bed. All of those who had the pleasure of knowing Steve have undoubtedly had their lives moved by his sincerity, compassion, patience, and enthusiastic outlook on life, education, and community.

Steve’s family is very grateful for the exceptional care he received at the University of Minnesota’s MFairview Hospital and Clinic, including the work of his brilliant and generous oncologist, Dr. Naomi Fujioka, MD, her entire dedicated clinic team and oncology unit and the staff of the infusion center. The family also benefitted from the wise advice and presence of our end of life doula, Nina Guertin, of Tending the Spirit. When it came time to consider what to do with Steve's remains, the choice was simple: he wanted to be cremated, so our doula suggested an innovative, green alternative: Inspired Journeys, a water based cremation using substantially less energy. Coincidently it is the Midwest’s first woman-owned mortuary business, whose owner is passionate about sharing a different vision of the death experience. Steve may not have researched this choice for himself, but we believe he'd agree with what we decided. Finally, there is a multitude of friends, family and neighbors who have supported us on this journey, in so many ways they lightened the load and gave Steve continued energy during his last years. To them we are humbly grateful.

An April 28th memorial service is planned at Lake Harriet United Methodist Church at 4:30pm with visitation starting at 3:00pm and a reception afterwards. It will also be streamed on the church website. We encourage you to bring something that reminds you of Steve. Donations in Steve’s memory can be made to Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery (where he consulted) crisisnursery.org/Donate or Breakthrough Twin Cities (a non-profit started by a student) breakthroughtwincities.org

memorial service

Memorial service

April 28, 2023

An April 28th memorial service is planned at Lake Harriet United Methodist Church at 4:30pm with visitation starting at 3:00pm and a reception afterwards. It will also be streamed on the church website https://www.lakeharrietumc.org/

We encourage you to bring something that reminds you of Steve.

For those of you who have access to Steve's former students, please pass on the information about the event. Many thanks!