USAFA Class Histories

Capt. Steven Joel Savonen, Sr., MD, age 79, of Albuquerque, N.M., passed away May l, 2020, with his family holding him as he completed his final mission and flew on to a greater place. He was born Oct. 27, 1940, to Arvo and Dorothy (nee Seppala) Savonen, in Astoria, Ore.

Steven shared a rough childhood with his sister, Crystal Temple and they were taken in by his uncle and aunt, Leo and Viola Seppala of Edgemont, S. D, During this time, he followed his Finnish heritage with imparting Sisu into his life. Sisu is stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience and hardness in the face of adversity. He flourished under the roof of Leo and Viola. He was on the football team and played coronet in band. He was valedictorian of his 1958 high school class.  He attended the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and then was accepted into the Air Force Academy.   On June 5, 1963, he graduated from the Air Force Academy where President John F Kennedy was the guest speaker.  He attended pilot training at Craig AFB and was selected for F-105 training,   He flew more than 100 combat missions over North Vietnam and 11 over Laos out of Korat AFB, narrowly surviving severe damage inflicted to his aircraft`s wings. He received a Distinguished Flying Cross for that mission.  On May 21,1967, he received the Air Medal (seventh OLC) for meritorious achievement in bombing the Vu Chua railroad yard. Steven was assigned to destroy a highly vital rail yard in North Vietnam. He placed his bombs directly on the target and was credited with destroying nearly one hundred explosive-laden boxcars and cutting all three tracks in the rail yard.  He loved watching the movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai" because it reminded him of that mission. He was one of the founding members of the prestigious Vietnam River Rats. He was a highly decorated Vietnam F-105 Thunderchief fighter pilot and was awarded the following medals: Distinguished Flying Cross with 3 oak leaf clusters, the Air Medal with 12 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, The National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with Service Star and Vietnam Campaign Medal with U.S. involvement device.

After his service, he attended and graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. He specialized in orthopedic surgery and practiced for more than 30 years.

The last few years of his life were spent caring for his wife, Sheri Savonen, and their numerous fur babies. Steven was always a man of deep faith and upon his marriage to Sheri, joined The Church Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He really looked forward to the weekly Tuesday lectures. The members of his Temple brought him an immense amount of comfort, joy and support, even more so after the passing of Sheri in January 2020.

Steven is survived by his children: Kim (Randy) Jidas, Steven (Lisa) Savonen, Dr Jennifer (Russell) Joy, Julia Savonen, Capt. Jeffrey Savonen and Janice Savonen; his sisters Crystal (Ron) Temple and Donna (Deane) Uhl; and grandchildren: Nick (Amber) Jidas, Gina (Russell Arlt) Jidas, Mikayla (Matt Corey) Jidas, Kiya Azad, Cora Azad and Aria Azad; and great grandchildren: Jacob, Payton, Summer. Brady and Jaxon. He also leaves numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents: Arvo and Dorothy Saavonen, and Leo and Viola Seppala:  his wife, Sheri Savonen; his brother and sisten-in-law, Jim and Jeanne Seppala.