Jackson Keegan Steinmiller

Jackson Keegan Steinmiller, age 21, passed away on April 19, 2018, at UTMC. His hospital room that day, and most of the third floor, was filled with family and beloved friends. His mama held his hand and spoke to him, while his daddy stroked his hair, as his courageous and inspiring three year battle with cancer came to an end. He was born on March 29, 1997 in Toledo Hospital. Jackson attended Our Lady Of Lourdes Catholic school K-5, and graduated from St. Patrick’s of Heatherdowns in 2011. He graduated from St. John’s Jesuit High School in May of 2015. He was diagnosed with Fibrolamellar, a rare form of liver cancer, a month later in June of 2015. After a one year delay for major liver surgery, Jackson finally got a chance to go to college. He was a Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society member at Owens Community College; where he was working on his undergraduate degree in Psychology. He aspired to attend law school, and practice as a defense attorney. He was a poster child for Children’s Miracle Network Dance Marathon at the University of Toledo. Through that experience, he had a special connection with the Blue Crew. Jackson was an ordained minister and actually married his grandparents and several friends. His photo is part of the Disney World Epcot Millennial Monument, and he was in front of Cinderella’s Castle when the millennial turned. He was very engaged in politics from a young age, and attended the first Tea Party protest, the gathering on 8-28-10 in front of the Lincoln Memorial, and many other smaller demonstrations for causes he was passionate about. He was passionate about fair and ethical treatment of the mentally ill, and was active in the Fibrolamellar world community, and networked with “fibro fighters” and researchers all over the world. He was an avid baseball player and huge fan of the Detroit Tigers. He attended both the 2006 and 2012 World Series. Jackson had a special friendship with Tommy Matchick, from the World Series winning 1968 Detroit Tigers, because his grandson played little league with him. Jackson was a tenor Sax player, and he marched in the SJJ Marching Band. He also rowed crew, wrestled, and threw shot put for SJJ. He was a published poet, and was known to write poetry with original drawings as gifts. He was a talented cosplay designer of both existing characters, and his own original creations, and he attended Comicon in San Diego, CA this past summer. He not only created his Comicon costume, but costumes for his two twelve-year-old nieces; who he insisted have the opportunity to go with him. They were in the famous Hall H for the tribute to twelve years of Supernatural, complete with a performance by Kansas. To say he was a Supernatural fan, would be an understatement. He sported the same tattoo the main characters do to ward off demonic possession. He was an avid video game player practically from birth, and his all time favorite games were Zelda games from Nintendo. His other geeky pursuits included: Star Trek, Stargate, Marvel Comics, Magic: The Gathering, Harry Potter, and Pokemon. Though by the time Pokemon Go came along, Jackson had already lost most of his “go”. Jackson loved to travel, and especially loved to fly. From age four, he could get through an airport, pulling his carry-on like a seasoned world traveler. He was devoted to animals, especially cats, and is survived by his three furry babies Patchy, Precious, and Punky. They were a great comfort to him during his long illness. He was preceded in death, by the “love of his life”, Willow Pickard; who lost her battle with Fibrolamellar in January 2018. He is also preceded in death by his older brother, Derrick Steinmiller, whom he idolized, his infant nephew Carter Steinmiller, and his paternal grandparents, Leonard and Helen Steinmiller. Jackson is survived by his devoted parents: Kimilee and Bernie Steinmiller of Toledo; Godparents: Xavier Smith and Candy Babb; Siblings: Kitiara Snoderly, husband Michael Snoderly, and their daughter Iris Justina Rose Snoderly (named after their brother Derrick); Giselle Hovey, husband Shawn Hovey, children Arin Hovey, Allie (Hovey) McCloud, Olivia Hovey, and Andrew Phlegar; Valerie (Wyckoff) Steinmiller Frazier, husband Ron Frazier and their son Kale Frazier of Swanton; Brian Steinmiller, children Thomas Steinmiller and Dylan Steinmiller; Uncle, and defacto big brother, Kenley Parker and fiance Caitlyn Zahard, children Logan Stiger, Lillyan Stiger, and Althea Parker; James Stephens, his lifelong best friend, whom he considered a brother, fiance Victoria Bielak and their son Derek James Stephens (named for their brother Derrick); and many foster siblings; Maternal Grandparents: Michael and Connie Wagner of Toledo; Ken and Day Parker of Palm Bay, FL; Great-grandparent: Mary Jane Parker of Beverly Hills, FL; also fourteen aunts and uncles, including Teri Tressler (who doubled as his nanny) Greg Houtz (with whom he shared a love of Psychology) both of Findlay; and Chris Steinmiller, Jennifer Steinmiller of Toledo (who served with him as precinct captains); twenty-five cousins; several great-aunts and uncles who all loved him very much. Jackson will not have a visitation per his wishes. A Vigil service will be held May 11, 2018 at 6 P.M. at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, ​6135 Hill Ave​., Toledo.​ His Funeral Mass will be the following day, May 12, 2018 at 2 P.M. in the chapel at St. John’s Jesuit High School, 5901 Airport Hwy., Toledo. A party to celebrate his ​life in Irish tradition,​will be held following Mass at approximately 4 P.M. at Mulvaney’s Banquet Hall, adjacent to the Bunker Bar, 1950 Eber Rd., Holland. Plenty of Irish food and fun to be had, and bring a Nerf gun. In lieu of flowers or plants for Jackson’s mama to kill, please consider a donation to Fibrolamelar research at Rockefeller University, or to NAMI. More information can be found on Facebook under “Jackson’s Tumor Updates” or Jackson’s Facebook which will be converted to a memorial page per his wishes. He will be interned in the family’s private cemetery with his brother. Finally, the family wishes to thank all those who participated in Jackson’s health​care​, which actually started before he was even conceived​, and brings a twist to it takes a village.​ We especially want to thank Dr. Joe Karnitis, Fertility Specialist, who helped bring Jackson’s fragile life to existence, and his wife Dr. Sue Karnitis who was his pediatrician. Dr. Kathryn Boehm who continued to serve as his primary care doctor, despite her own illness​. Dr. David Merrell ENT (aka Dr. Duck) and Derik​ Vincent FNP. He was a long time patient of Dr. William Suarez, Pediatric Cardiologist and Dr. Daniel Lovell Pediatric Rheumatologist at Toledo Children’s Hospital. Dr. Christopher Siegel, liver surgeon at Seidman, who gave us hope and probably two years we wouldn’t have had with Jackson, and his wife, Kelly Siegel, who was also his CNS. The entire staff at Seidman Cancer Center Cleveland were just wonderful. We especially want to mention Judy Wolen MSW, and Amy Carver, his chemo nurse. We want everyone at Memorial Sloan Kettering NYC to know how much we appreciated all they did. In the last several months of his life, he was in the loving care of Dr. Paul Kent, Medical Oncology, Dr. Srikumar Pillai, Pediatric Surgeon, and Dr. Bulent Arslan, Interventional Radiologist, at Rush University hospital in Chicago, Illinois. A simple thank-you does not convey our gratitude for their devotion to Jackson. ​Much love and appreciation, goes out to Dr. Dawn Hernandez, Critical Care, who did everything she could to help us during his last days at UTMC. I’m not certain there are words for the dedication and love we felt from Dr. Dagmar Stein, Hematology/Oncology, of Toledo Children’s Hospital, who spent the last day of Jack’s life with us. We will forever remember the love and humanity you gave our family on that terrible day. We thank all the teachers, coaches, mentors and friends that helped Jackson to be the bright light that he was to us all. He will forever live on in our hearts.