Stephen Quirk

Stephen Bradley Quirk, 57, passed away at home Saturday, November 7, 2026 of natural causes. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, November 12, 2026 at 12pm at the Lutheran Church of Hope+Elim, 2500 University Ave, Des Moines, IA 50311. Visitation will begin at 10am.

Steve was born on August 26, 1969 to Charles “Chuck” and Gale (Senty) Quirk in Waterloo, Iowa. He attended East Waterloo High School graduating in 1988. Steve earned a degree in Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa in 1992, then completed a Masters of Public Policy degree in 1994.

Steve married his high school sweetheart, Cheri Bracken, on June 26, 1993. Together the two had 4 children; sons Alexander and Jacob and daughters Zaiah and Ciri.

Throughout his life, Steve was a dedicated family man and follower of Christ. His faith and upbringing drove him to be engaged with his community, participating in many community and charitable organizations along with coaching many, many of his son’s youth sports teams.

Steve dedicated his career to public service. He started out at the Black Hawk County Health Department then became the Director of the Siouxland District Health Department, before eventually moving on to Des Moines where he worked at the Iowa Department of Public Health. Later, Stephen accepted the position of Executive Director at Youth Emergency Services & Shelter (YESS) where his true passion for caring for at-risk youth emerged. He was most proud and fulfilled with his service there and enjoyed his time there immensely. He later served as a VP at Lutheran Social Services of Iowa.

Steve spent many years being physically active, running marathons, participating in adventure racing, biking across Death Valley and being a member of a “bike gang”, pedaling thousands of miles with good friends. He was a life long die-hard Green Bay Packer Fan along with his father, brother Brian and eventually his two boys. Alex and Jacob will cherish the many memories they have of traveling to see the Packers play in Green Bay with their dad as well as watching countless games with him over the years at home. Steve was even more fanatical with watching his children participate in their many athletic and extra-curricular activities at Urbandale High School, GrandView University football and Wartburg volleyball. Steve was extremely proud of all of his children’s achievements and loved them dearly.

Stephen is preceded in death by his parents, Chuck and Gale.

He is survived by his children, Alexander (Sarah) Quirk, Jacob (Chelsey) Quirk, Zaiah (Jack) Palen, and Ciri (Zach Vorpahl) Quirk; his ex-wife Cheri Quirk; and his three brothers, Wayne (Kelley) Quirk, Brian (Sue) Quirk, and Bob (Toni) Quirk and many nieces and nephews.

He will truly be missed by all of his family and they pray he is at peace and living joyfully with God his father for eternity.