City Mourns Loss of Longtime Police Officer Steve Stroh

Sgt. Steve Stroh, a 25-year veteran at the , passed away over the weekend following a lengthy battle with cancer.

Stroh, 47, had been fighting Multiple Myeloma—a cancer which attacks plasma cells in the bone marrow—for more than four years.

Stroh passed away at 12:07 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25. According to a post on his CaringBridge site, he spent his last hours surrounded by those he loved the most.

Chief of Police Jeff Long remembers a discussion he and Stroh had a few weeks ago, where Stroh was asking Long about some things going on in his life.

"He was asking me about some things I had going on at the time and I told him I felt kind of bad talking about it in the middle of his illness," Long recalled. "All he said to me was, 'That's what friends are for.' That's the kind of guy Steve was."

Beyond their decades of service together, Long said Stroh was simply the sort of friend you could always count on when you needed him.

"More than anything, more than being a cop, to me he was just a once-in-a-lifetime friend," Long said. "Those don't come around too often."

In a post on his blog, City Manager Scott Neal said Stroh was loved and respected by city employees both within and outside of the Police Department.

"I did not have the opportunity to work with Steve for very long, but I knew him and of his struggle," Neal wrote. "The Police Department meant a lot to Steve. It was an important part of his identity. He leaves behind many friends and coworkers here who will miss him dearly."

Stroh is survived by his parents, Ben and Kathleen Stroh of Edina, wife Caroline and daughter Shannon. Stroh and his wife were 1983 graduates of Benilde-St. Margaret's High School.

He began working for the Edina Police Department in 1987, shortly after graduating from St. Thomas College with a degree in criminal justice and completing Alexandria Technical College's police skills program. In 2005, Stroh received his Masters of Police Administration from the University of St. Thomas.

Stroh started as a part-time Community Service Officer for Edina in early 1987, then was hired as a full-time Police Officer later that year. Over the course of his 25 years with Edina Police Department, Stroh worked his way up to the rank of Sergeant.

Visitation will be held from 4-8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, at Washburn-McReavy Edina Chapel, located at West 50th Street and Hwy. 100. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29, at Church of the Assumption in St. Paul, followed by a private family interment.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation's Twin Cities Race for Research under the name "Team Steve" are appreciated.

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