March 7, 1938 – January 17, 2023
Stephen Frank Polzer III, a Texas public school educator for 50 years, passed away peacefully with family at his side on January 17, 2023, at the age of 84.
He was born on March 7, 1938, to Stephen Frank Polzer Jr. and Magdalena (Moraw) Polzer and raised on the family farm outside of Cameron, Texas. The youngest of five brothers, Steve developed his love for cooking alongside his mother until he was old enough to work the farm.
After graduating from C.H. Yoe High School in Cameron in 1956, Steve embraced his parents’ great appreciation for education, earning a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in child development from the University of North Texas.
As a teacher, counselor, and principal, “Mr. Polzer” nurtured and positively impacted the lives of thousands of students and teachers in the Dallas, Brownfield, Alice, and Lewisville Independent School Districts. In 1971, Steve began a 40-year career with the Lewisville ISD as a counselor at Lewisville High School. He went on to serve as principal at several elementary schools and a middle school. In 2000, he retired while principal at Creekside Elementary, but his first of three retirements didn’t last long. He was soon asked to return as principal at Creekside and B.B. Owen Elementary for several years.
As a principal, Steve loved his students but also enjoyed working with faculty and staff. He maintained those strong relationships during retirement. Steve’s support group of friends, LISD teachers, colleagues, and former students rallied around him as he twice faced the challenges of chemo treatments for lymphoma, and myelodysplastic syndrome.
A lifelong Catholic, Steve practiced his faith as a member of St. Philip the Apostle Church in Flower Mound. His work as a parish council member was instrumental in planning, funding, and constructing the parish’s first dedicated sanctuary in Lewisville. He was one of the parish’s first eucharistic ministers and a member of Knights of Columbus and ACTS at St. Philip.
Years after working the fields and gardens alongside his parents and brothers, Steve took his passion for gardening to the next level, completing the Texas A&M Master Gardener program. He also shared those childhood lessons in the kitchen and his mother’s recipes with his family and friends as a barbecue Pit Master who loved to cook for big gatherings.
Steve is preceded in death by his parents; his son, Stephen Frank Polzer IV; brother Bernard Polzer and wife, Florence; brother Eugene Polzer, three Polzer sisters-in-law, Patricia, Edna, and Fran, niece Theresa Talaber, and nephew Michael Polzer.
Survivors include former wife Cecelia Polzer, their son, Tim Polzer and wife Karen; daughter Tina Milanesi and husband, Jon; grandchildren Dante Milanesi, Sydney Milanesi, Jackson Polzer, Gabriel Polzer, and Leo Polzer; brothers Lawrence Polzer and Wilfred Polzer, sister-in-law Rosalie Polzer, as well as, numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, in-laws, and his beloved golden retriever “Sweetie.”
A visitation for family and friends will be held Tuesday, January 24 at Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home from 6-8 p.m. with The Rosary being said at 8 p.m. A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, January 25 at St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church in Flower Mound. A brief graveside burial service will be held at 10 a.m., Thursday, January 26 at St. Monica Cemetery in Steve’s hometown of Cameron, Texas.
Donations can be made to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas or Lewisville ISD Education Foundation.
