Steve & DeEtte Loeffler

As we often say here as Graham, “the Navy giveth and the Navy taketh away.” Well, thanks to the Navy, in the fall of 2005, we were given Steve and DeEtte Loeffler, who have been attending Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church they moved here from British Columbia. Together, they have served in a myriad of roles here at Graham, including as Elders and as Chancel Choir members. Steve has also served as an AWANA leader, while DeEtte has served as a leader for Women’s retreats to Forest Home and during summer Bible studies.

While DeEtte enjoys hiking with Steve, he also enjoys falling off the mountains he hikes! (Don’t worry, once was enough – and nothing is written in these blurbs that doesn’t come directly from the source!) They both enjoy reading, while DeEtte also enjoys gardening and sewing in her spare time.

They met in college in Washington State (Go Dawgs!), and were married at Pacific Beach Presbyterian Church, where they were both in the choir. They have lived together in San Diego, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Japan, Virginia, Canada, and now Coronado, and have two adult children, Rachel and Aaron. They were both Scout leaders while our children were younger (Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturing). Both have also served in the military, though have since retired. Steve served in the Navy, DeEtte in the Army Reserve, and both are still working in other capacities now.

As a child, Steve knew he wanted to be in the Navy and remembered wanting to drive ships as far back as early high school. When he was much younger, he wanted to be an astronaut.  Now he is a maritime environmental analyst for the Navy.

At age 3, DeEtte wanted to be Perry Mason (from the TV trial lawyer on a show). Now she is a tax and estate planning attorney (no litigation)!

When asked what toothpaste they used, both quickly responded, “Crest – doesn’t everybody?”

If they could go back in time and meet anyone (minus Jesus), Steve would chose to meet his grandfathers, as both died before he was born. DeEtte would like to meet C.S. Lewis – “he was brilliant and I think it would be fascinating to talk with him.”