Sonya Johnston
Stephen contacted me via Facebook Marketplace either this past March or April, because he liked a framed historic US map I was selling. However, instead of him making the hour drive to me, Stephen tried his darndest to get me to hit the road to Columbia instead. He was not successful, lol, even after offering me extra money to do so. Our buyer/seller communication ended. No deal.
Fast-forward several weeks,- I still had the map and needed to make a CoMo trip. Stephen was happy to hear from me, and we agreed to meet at the gas station off 63 exit. Upon meeting, Stephen was a bit reserved. He chatted with my 14 year old son and me in the gas station parking lot for a good ten minutes, his demeanor loosened when describing his film projects. Just a cool guy.
On May 23, 2022, Stephen paid me cash, selling price only, for the hand delivery of a sweet map. I had to add him on FB, just to glean what I could from his multiple, staunchly-positioned posts. Reading about Stephen's death only a couple weeks later was incredibly disheartening. His career was truly intriguing, and I had every intention- all genuine- to pick that man's brain on politics and MO Statutes.
To his family and friends, you folks sure are lucky to have had Stephen in your lives, and now your memories. I am sad for each of you as you continue to grieve. Before writing this, I tried to pull up my and Stephen's few messages to share, but they've somehow been deleted. I didn't erase them. I wanted to show you a couple comments he made from our first message string. Stephen expressed real concern then about making the drive to my town. His remarks essentially were that he was concerned that our transaction would not go well. At the time, I found that really weird, and assured him either of our two mutual FB friends could easily verify me. Stephen's slight paranoia in the first go may have been justified after all.
