1,000 Attend Sueppel Family Funeral

This story is by Brian Morelli of The Iowa City Press-Citizen and reports that The six members of the Sheryl and Steven Sueppel family rested in six caskets -- two longer silver ones in the middle with four shorter white ones on their sides -- before the altar of St. Mary's Catholic Church on Saturday morning.

A bell tower chimed as pallbearers marched the caskets one by one outside to six white hearses, one with a black roof. Those drove off in procession to St. Joseph's Cemetery, where the Sueppels will forever remain together, buried side-by-side.

"You were a great family. That is the legacy that you leave, not this one tragic event," said Sheryl Sueppel's brother, Dave Kesterson, to about 1,000 mourners.

Saturday was a day of mourning in Iowa City. Not judgment, not anger, just mourning the deaths of Sheryl, 42, Steven, 42, Ethan, 10, Seth, 8, Mira, 5, and Eleanor Sueppel, 3, and urging people to rely on faith in God to get through the tragic deaths.

For many outside the immediate family, it's hard to understand eternally uniting a husband and father with the family he brutally murdered before committing suicide. But, as a family, that is how the Sueppels and Kestersons agree their son and daughter, respectively, and four grandchildren should be remembered.

"My mom and dad along with (my family) all truly love you (Steve) and that will never change. ... Probably the easiest thing to do this week was forgive Steve," said Dave Kesterson, of Cedar Rapids. "I know there will be people who wonder how I can stand up here and be at peace. It's because of Jesus Christ."
Kesterson said he believed forgiveness would be Sheryl Sueppel's wish.
The Rev. Ken Kuntz described the Kestersons' and Sueppels' reactions to this tragedy as "the true meaning of love and forgiveness."

Steven Sueppel on either Sunday night or Monday morning beat his wife and children to death, possibly with baseball bats recovered from the crime scene, their 629 Barrington Road home. Autopsies determined they died of blunt force trauma to the torso and head.

Monday morning, Sueppel, a former Hills Bank & Trust executive indicted on charges of embezzling more than $500,000 over seven years and money laundering, committed suicide on his third attempt by driving into a concrete post in the median of Interstate 80.

The former vice president and controller left Hills Bank in October 2007. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was set to appear in court in April. The federal case is being thrown out, although there remains the possibility of civil lawsuits.

Kuntz did not have answers for what Steven Sueppel did, calling it "beyond our ability to comprehend." Kuntz reflected briefly on the confusion that accompanies mental illness, and he urged parents to hug their children and encouraged people to let God judge Steven Sueppel.
"I don't know why or how Steve could do what he did, but I do know Steve loved his wife and his kids," Kuntz said.
Kuntz did not specifically tell people how they should remember Steven Sueppel -- widely regarded as a good man and a loving father and husband up until those last deeds that will forever shadow his memory.

Bible readings and Psalm refrains, though, spoke of forgiveness and eternal life.

"Everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through His name," the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles said.

Church-goers used Psalm 33 as a responsorial refrain: "Let your mercy be on us, O God, as we place trust in you." The Sueppel family was deeply connected to St. Mary's, where they attended Mass weekly. Steven and Sheryl were married there, and Steven and all four children were baptized there. Mourners dabbed their eyes throughout the service and as they entered and left St. Mary's.

The far reaches of this six-person family could seen as a diverse crowd of old and young, family and extended family, the children's Longfellow Elementary classmates, neighbors and a broad range of friends packed the church.

A picture of each family member sat in separate arrangements of white flowers above each casket. Enlarged family pictures from this past Christmas and a family trip to Colorado also stood on the altar next to several more flower arrangements.

"We commend Eleanor, Mira, Seth, Ethan and Sheryl to the warm embrace of God," Kuntz said. "We commend Steven to the infinite mercy and forgiving love of God."

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