Jddewitt81
Well-known member
It is with my deepest sympathy to report the passing of ukulele builder Steve Vanpelt.
Admittedly I hadn’t heard much about Steve as I wasn’t playing the ukulele when he was building. That all changed a few days ago when Ginny posted her soprano Vanpelt ukulele for sale on Ukulele Underground. Being a soprano player I just knew I had to have it. I fell in love with the wood combination and the attention to to detail Steve used from the pictures alone. Not knowing anything about him as a builder I thought I would take a chance on it. I contacted her immediately and told her I would take it!
Like many people I wanted to find out more about who made my lovey new instrument so I decided to search for him. Surprisingly I found very little. I did find a few old posts he made and an old video of him at the Reno uke convention. Through my searches I could see that many people loved the work he did and many people had also wondered where he went so suddenly.
I just happened to search Facebook and found a post by a lovely woman named Terry Ross Vanpelt. She had stated that her husband had passed. She made this post just days AFTER I had already purchased the Vanpelt ukulele.
I contacted her immediately with my deepest sympathy but I had to make sure that this was him. Sadly it indeed was him and she reported that he had actually passed away October 8, 2017. She gave me her number and I called her immediately.
Terry was very friendly and so delighted to hear my story and how I just so happened to come across this ukulele. I could tell that it really put a smile on her heart. She spoke of her husband building this ukulele and remembered who Ginny was. She told me that her husband really put a lot of love into this one!! Naturally you can tell that she misses and loves her husband dearly. We talked for a long while as she told me stories about Steve as a man, as a builder and of his passing. I found our conversation felt as if we had known each other forever.
During our conversation she spoke of Chuck Moore and a brief interaction they had discussing ukuleles. She spoke about how excited Steve was about this. She also spoke of another man whom had purchased a tenor ukulele. She couldn’t remember his name but she did say that he had a “Hawaiian name”. I could feel the trip down memory lane as we spoke and I think that she could tell that my heart was equally as touched as hers.
I wanted to make sure that she was ok with me relaying the message to you all and she was indeed very much ok with it. In fact she told me to let all of you know and for me to leave her contact information. She is not very computer savvy and is having a hard time accessing all of Steve’s contacts on his phone. She would love to hear from any of you that knew him in any way or anyone who ever purchased or played one of his ukuleles either new or secondhand.
I believe that her hearing from all that knew him would mean a great deal to her. What I never expected was just how much this would impact me. I am honored to have had a chance to speak with her and equally as honored to have a part of Steve’s legacy.
For those that wish to get in touch with Terry and give your respects please contact me and I will give you her phone number. She said it was ok to post it here but I would rather not as this is a public forum.
- Jon
Admittedly I hadn’t heard much about Steve as I wasn’t playing the ukulele when he was building. That all changed a few days ago when Ginny posted her soprano Vanpelt ukulele for sale on Ukulele Underground. Being a soprano player I just knew I had to have it. I fell in love with the wood combination and the attention to to detail Steve used from the pictures alone. Not knowing anything about him as a builder I thought I would take a chance on it. I contacted her immediately and told her I would take it!
Like many people I wanted to find out more about who made my lovey new instrument so I decided to search for him. Surprisingly I found very little. I did find a few old posts he made and an old video of him at the Reno uke convention. Through my searches I could see that many people loved the work he did and many people had also wondered where he went so suddenly.
I just happened to search Facebook and found a post by a lovely woman named Terry Ross Vanpelt. She had stated that her husband had passed. She made this post just days AFTER I had already purchased the Vanpelt ukulele.
I contacted her immediately with my deepest sympathy but I had to make sure that this was him. Sadly it indeed was him and she reported that he had actually passed away October 8, 2017. She gave me her number and I called her immediately.
Terry was very friendly and so delighted to hear my story and how I just so happened to come across this ukulele. I could tell that it really put a smile on her heart. She spoke of her husband building this ukulele and remembered who Ginny was. She told me that her husband really put a lot of love into this one!! Naturally you can tell that she misses and loves her husband dearly. We talked for a long while as she told me stories about Steve as a man, as a builder and of his passing. I found our conversation felt as if we had known each other forever.
During our conversation she spoke of Chuck Moore and a brief interaction they had discussing ukuleles. She spoke about how excited Steve was about this. She also spoke of another man whom had purchased a tenor ukulele. She couldn’t remember his name but she did say that he had a “Hawaiian name”. I could feel the trip down memory lane as we spoke and I think that she could tell that my heart was equally as touched as hers.
I wanted to make sure that she was ok with me relaying the message to you all and she was indeed very much ok with it. In fact she told me to let all of you know and for me to leave her contact information. She is not very computer savvy and is having a hard time accessing all of Steve’s contacts on his phone. She would love to hear from any of you that knew him in any way or anyone who ever purchased or played one of his ukuleles either new or secondhand.
I believe that her hearing from all that knew him would mean a great deal to her. What I never expected was just how much this would impact me. I am honored to have had a chance to speak with her and equally as honored to have a part of Steve’s legacy.
For those that wish to get in touch with Terry and give your respects please contact me and I will give you her phone number. She said it was ok to post it here but I would rather not as this is a public forum.
- Jon