Philip AKA “Smiley”

Philip “Smiley” Steck died at age 72 on Sept. 18 2022 in Victor, Idaho, after a short
illness.
Philip R. Steck was born Oct. 21, 1949 in Charlottesville, Virginia to James S. Steck and Rachel Shuck Steck. The family settled in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania where Phil
graduated from Shippensburg Area Senior High School. He then attended Shippensburg
State College, with an Earth Science teaching major. He was also member of the Sigma
Pi fraternity.

As a Boy Scout, Phil achieved the rank of Life Scout. His Scout leader Jack
Eschenmann, taught Phil tom fly fish starting a lifelong passion for the sport. His love of skiing also formed during his high school years when a ski resort opened near
Shippensburg.

After his junior year at Shippensburg State College, he left to spend a winter in Stowe,
Vermont. Then in fall of 1971 he and a friend drove West to find jobs where there were
better skiing and fishing experiences, Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

From the 1971 to 2001 winter seasons, he was employed by Jackson Hole Mountain
Resort as a ski patrolman. During the summer seasons, from 1972 to 2008, he was self-
employed as a fly fishing guide associated with Jack Dennis Sports, Grand Teton Lodge
Co., West Bank Anglers, and Crescent H Ranch in Jackson. Smiley was also employed as a river patrol ranger by Grand Teton National Park from 1978 to 1981.

Phil was an avid golfer for 50 years with an 11 handicap. The summer of 1989 he worked for the Teton Pines golf course as a cart/ranger staff, marshal and greenskeeper.
During the winters from 2001 to 2018, Smiley enjoyed multiple trips to New Zealand.
There he worked for friends as a fishing guide, he golfed and paraglided.

Smiley leaves behind many from his ski patrol “fraternity,” his fishing “fraternity” and
his paragliding friends. He was a good, kind man, who always had a great smile, an
interesting story, and a word of advice. He will be missed!

He was preceded in death by his father James S Steck (1998) and his mother Rachel
Shuck Steck (2008.) Phil is survived by his sister Sarah “Sally” (Edward) Burke of
Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. Smiley‘s ashes have been paraglided over his favorite spots in Jackson Hole by friends.