Stephen Andrew Darnell, a native son of South Houston and Pasadena, TX, died of natural causes in Seguin, TX on April 11, 2023. He was 74 years old.

Born in Houston, he attended Genoa Elementary, South Houston Junior High School, and finally South Houston High School. In his junior year there, he won the highly competitive Grand Champion Hog Award at the Pasadena Live Stock Show and Rodeo. But farming was not to be his future.

Stephen had always been fascinated by the mechanical sciences, and so he decided to forego college and put his talents to use. Almost immediately he was hired by the Atlantic Richfield Refinery in Pasadena, first as a simple laborer. But they quickly spotted his aptitude and advanced him to a position as a machinist. After several years, Stephen’s love of fishing and the outdoors took him to Henderson, TX, where he served as a millwright at a major power plant. But his love of family brought him home to Pasadena again, and he continued his career as a master machinist for Lyondell Chemical until his retirement.

Naturally Stephen’s interest in mechanics made him an avid car collector and hobbyist. His vintage collection included a cherry red 1932 Ford Coupe, a 1970s-era Plymouth Roadrunner, a 1955 Ford, and a classic 1957 Jaguar. He also had a passion for motorcycles, and once rode his Harley-Davidson many hundreds of miles to attend a national motorcycle rally—a perfect example of his happy, free-wheeling sense of fun.

Stephen is preceded in the afterlife by his father and mother, Oppie Stelzel and Elnora Darnell of Pasadena, his dearest wife Sheila Darnell, and his son Stephen Andrew “Little Steve” Darnell Jr.

Grieving his loss are his son Douglas Darnell; his grandchildren Susie Darnell, “Trey” Darnell, and Gracie Darnell; his brothers Danny Darnell and Dean Darnell; his sisters Gloria Richardson, Mary Linda Poston and Pamela Fisher; his sister-in-law Pat Darnell, and many more beloved cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A memorial gathering for Stephen will be held at 2 pm on Saturday, June 24, 2023 at Rosewood Funeral Home, 3939 Pasadena Boulevard in Pasadena, TX.