Dr. Steven Paul Corum, 73, Chaplain Educator and Minister

Click here to view the Recording of Steve's Memorial Service

Sioux Falls, S.D. — Dr. Steven Paul Corum, a longtime chaplain educator, military chaplain, and clergy member who trained generations of hospital and military chaplains across the Upper Midwest, died from advanced dementia on September 17, 2025, at Dougherty Hospice House, surrounded by his loving family.  He was 73.

Steven, known by most as Steve, was born February 10, 1952, in Sacramento, Calif., to Richard Ivan Corum Jr. and Jean Millicent (Wolf) Corum. He spent most of his childhood in Sacramento's Greenhaven neighborhood, across Frank Seymour Park from his grandparents' home. He was especially close to his grandmother, Olivia, and to his younger sister, Cindy, just fifteen months his junior. He delighted in the company of his Uncle Ray, Aunt Jo, and three mischievous cousins, Dave, Bob, and Lori. As a teenager, he delivered the afternoon edition of the Sacramento Bee in the neighborhood, using his earnings to buy his first car, a 1962 Opel Kadett.

Steven participated in Boy Scouts as a member of Troop 1, spending his summers at Camp Cody in the Sierra Nevada mountains and attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. Steve played trumpet in the Kennedy High School marching band and in a German polka band, and he maintained a wide circle of band friends all his life. He graduated from Kennedy in 1969 at 17, having skipped fourth grade, and then attended Sacramento City College for two years. He then transferred to the University of California, Davis, where he earned degrees in History and Secondary Education in 1973.

After a brief stint teaching middle-school history—an experience he liked to say confirmed that the classroom was not his calling—Steve entered the North American Baptist Seminary in Sioux Falls, So. Dak., where he received a Master of Divinity degree.

He returned to Sacramento in 1978 as a youth pastor at First Baptist Church, where he met Jill  Renée Poppe, a college student. He invited her out for a Coke—his beverage of choice.  They enjoyed a year of courtship and married on August 11, 1979. The newlyweds soon moved to Susanville, Calif., where Steve served as a pastor to First Baptist Church. The couple welcomed their first son, Sean Paul, in 1980. That same year, Steve joined the U.S. Army Reserves as a second lieutenant chaplain officer, beginning a parallel career in the military that would span more than three decades.

Following the birth of their first daughter, Joylynn Renée, in 1984, the family moved to Terrell, Tex., where Steve became a chaplain at Terrell State Hospital—work that deepened his lifelong belief in compassionate spiritual care. There, he and Jill welcomed their second son, Scott Richard, in 1988. While raising a young family, he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Texas Christian University in 1991 and also completed accreditation as a supervisor in the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). Steve and Jill's second daughter, Julianne Marie, came into the world that same year in New Hope, Tex.

Steve briefly directed chaplaincy education at the then recently opened Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Plano, Tex. before moving his family to Sioux Falls, So. Dak. in 1992. There, he joined McKennan Hospital (later Avera Health) as Assistant Director of Clinical Pastoral Education. He retired as Director of the program in 2020. For 28 years, he taught thousands of chaplaincy students across the Upper Midwest; to this day, chaplains who trained under him affectionately call themselves "STCs"—Steve-Trained Chaplains.

In addition to his clinical work, Steve served as a chaplain in the South Dakota Air National Guard, having transferred from the Army Reserves in 1993. After deployments around the world, he retired from military service in 2012 as a Lieutenant Colonel. Steve also provided pulpit supply and interim pastoral leadership for several Sioux Empire congregations, and, with his long-time colleague and friend Dr. Dan Leininger, co-founded The Church Doctors, a consulting ministry for struggling congregations.

Outside his vocation, Steve was devoted to fitness, family, and sports. He rarely missed a 5:45 a.m. spin class and often tried—almost completely unsuccessfully—to recruit his children to join him. Steve and Jill enjoyed long walks and bike rides together, twice cycling the Mickelson Trail in the Black Hills. An avid sports fan, Steve remained loyal to the San Francisco 49ers and the San Francisco Giants, relishing any televised game. He made annual trips to cities across the country with his sons to watch the NFL in person.

Music was another joy: he lent his resonant bass to church choirs and was renowned for never singing below mezzo forte. He loved classic rock from the 1960s and 1970s and was famous in the family for spinning his daughters around the living room to its rhythms. He and Jill were active members of First Baptist Church of Sioux Falls, serving as deacons and teaching Sunday School for many years.

A student of history and genealogy, Steve became the family historian for both the Corum and Poppe lineages. He taught his children that the best way to navigate life was to "stay curious." A lifelong reader, he was always ready with a book recommendation or a pun—he proudly called himself a "pun-y guy." His humor, warmth, and easy laughter were constants throughout his life.

He is remembered as a loving husband, father, brother, and friend—affectionate, wise, and deeply attuned to the people around him. As a grandfather, he brought the same silliness and gentle teasing to his grandchildren, Atlas Nikola and Elowynn Poppy, that his own children had cherished. Even as dementia stole most of his memory and words, his eyes still lit with recognition at the sight of those he loved, and he was able to say "I love you" to his family members in his final days.

Dr. Corum is preceded in death by his parents, Jean and Richard. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Jill; children Sean, Joylynn (Kreton), Scott, and Julianne; grandchildren Atlas and Elowynn; his sister Cindy; a brother-in-law; a sister-in-law; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, colleagues, students, and fellow service members.

Services: A visitation will be held 5-7 p.m. C.T. on Friday, October 24, 2025, at Miller Funeral Home–Downtown, 507 South Main Avenue, Sioux Falls,  SD

A memorial service will take place 12 p.m. C.T. on Saturday, October 25, 2025, at First Baptist Church, 1401 South Covell Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD, followed by a luncheon.

Interment with military honors will be held 2:30 p.m. P.T. (arrival 2 p.m.) on Friday, October 31, 2025, at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, 5810 Midway Road, Dixon, CA. A reception will follow at 4 p.m. P.T. at the Embassy Suites, 100 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA.