MONONA - Steven Richard Martinelli passed away peacefully on June 12, 2026, at the age of 66, at Drumlin Reserve in Cottage Grove, Wis. He was born on July 19, 1959, to Richard and Joan Martinelli and was their first, and arguably best, child.

Steve attended Monona Grove High School, where he met the love of his life, Cindy Schultz, who he married on January 7, 1978. They raised two children in Cottage Grove and were married for 48 years at the time of his death.

Steve encouraged his children to be independent, free-thinking weirdos. They loved how much he let them be themselves and how he taught them not to accept stereotypes or traditional gender roles, whether he was cooking dinner and doing laundry or chaperoning school field trips. He was an awesome, weird uncle to his many niblings and was the safe person who always made people feel welcome to be themselves. Despite what his siblings will claim, Steve always modeled how to be a good, kind, accepting person.

Steve started his career at Fish Building Supply at the age of 15, departing after 15 years for literal greener pastures in order to work on the Schultz Family Farm. He began his 25-year career working for the State of Wisconsin as a purchasing agent at the School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Janesville and the School for the Deaf in Delavan, moving on to work for the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; the Department of Transportation; and the Department of Children and Families.

He was committed to government efficiency and was instrumental in modernizing the procurement process by implementing the state’s first purchase card program and advocating for the adoption of DocuSign. He was a leader in the Wisconsin Association of Public Procurement, including serving as president. Steve was passionate about mentoring colleagues and training staff at agencies across the state on how to navigate the purchasing process effectively and ethically. He strongly believed that government could and should help people.

Steve was the longtime voice of Monona Grove sports on Monona cable. For over 25 years, he announced football and boys’ and girls’ basketball games, including a game at Camp Randall. He took his love of MG sports a step further through his work on WVMO radio, producing and recording 150 two-minute pieces about MG’s great victories, unsung heroes, and other unique stories.

Steve managed and was the starting pitcher for his beloved slow pitch softball team, D&M Concrete, for decades and led the team to many victories on the mound (less so at the plate).

He was a huge fan of the Brewers (as evidenced by wanting to name his children Gorman Thomas and Paul Molitor), the Packers, and the Badgers. He was the commissioner of the National Imaginary League (NIL), his fantasy baseball league, and did stats by hand well before it was cool. The family’s first answering machine was purchased to accurately record trades, as his elementary-school-aged children were unreliable notetakers.

Steve was embarrassingly proud of his children, especially their senses of humor and musical tastes, and was thrilled to go with them to see the musical Spamalot and performances by Leon Russell and the Who.

Steve will be remembered for always being a goofball. He loved Monty Python, King Kong and other movies in the Great Ape genre, MST3K, and Ray Harryhausen. He didn’t want to go on the cart, and he is no longer pinin’ for the fjords.

Steve was preceded in death by his parents, Joan and Richard; his parents-in-law, Ron and Joanne Schultz; his favorite sister-in-law, Suey Starcyzinski; and his brother-in-law, James Schultz. He is survived by his magnificent wife, Cindy; his daughter, Cori; his son, Joe, and daughter-in-law, Angie Hendrickson; siblings, Dave (Barb), Ron (Tish), Chuck (Angie), and Lori; his cat, Scout; and an almost uncountable number of in-laws, niblings, friends, and more.

The family would like to thank Bristol Hospice Care, the staff at Drumlin Reserve, and Senior Helpers, especially Ben, who spent many years playing Scrabble and helping Steve with his ideas and projects.

In honor of Steve, donations may be made to the Wisconsin Parkinson Association and Bristol Hospice.

A gathering of family and friends will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL AND CREMATION CARE, 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, from 9 a.m. until 12 noon on Friday, June 19, 2026. A celebration of Steve's life will be announced at a later date.

P.S. Ron is a pig.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420

Steven Richard Martinelli

July 19, 1959 - June 12, 2026

Send Local Flowers & Gifts for Steven

Categories