Steven William "Steve" Kemp, age 48, of Greenville, Michigan, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, September 11, 2026. The son of Deborah June (Aylsworth) & William Wright Kemp, he was born on October 13, 1977 in Greenville, Michigan and was a 1996 graduate of Greenville High School, where Steve played the trombone with the marching band.  

He then attended Ferris State University where he played in the college band. His lifelong love and appreciation of music was evidenced in his collection of classic vinyl albums and records. During his freshman year at Ferris, he began working weekends and term breaks at the former Brown-Teman Funeral Home. Steve worked his way through college at the Dalbert-Woodruff & Isenogle Funeral Home and earned his bachelor’s degree in mortuary science from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. After graduation, he returned to the area after graduation where he helped care for families in Greenville, Grand Rapids, and Muskegon, as well as at the former Youngman-McCullough and Stebbins-McCullough Chapels in Lakeview and Edmore.

On August 4, 2001, at St. Charles Catholic Church in Greenville, he married the former Erin Hamel and together they raised two children… whom he considered his greatest accomplishments.

Later in 2001 when the Brown-Teman Funeral Home became available for purchase, he and Rob Christiansen contemplated a partnership, but the call of returning to the family business, Kemp Insurance Sure, was greater.  Steve served as corporate treasurer and office manager for over 20 years and was a staple at the front counter, along with his brother, Charley, and cousin, Alex.

An active part of the community, Steve volunteered on the chain gang for Greenville High School football games for 25 years, working the sidelines alongside his “Pops”, grandfather, uncle, brother, and friends. He also served as treasurer of the Greenville Alumni Association since 2006 and president in 2007, had been a board member of the Education Foundation of Greenville, and currently was a trustee of the Flat River Historical Museum, as well as supporting many other community groups and local causes. Despite battling pheochromocytoma (a rare neuroendocrine tumor) and depression, Steve always extended a warm smile and a kind heart.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Debbie Kemp on February 9, 2018; by his father, Bill Kemp on June 18, 2026; his grandparents, Claude & Audrey Aylsworth and Cass & Bernice Kemp; and two uncles, Stanley S. Kemp and Cass C. Kemp.

Surviving are his children, Annie Kemp and Will Kemp, and their mother, Erin Kemp, all of Greenville; his sister and brother-in-law, Jenny & Scott Burnham of Marshall; his brother and sister-in-law, Charley & Denise Kemp of Big Rapids; five nieces and a nephew, Isabelle Burnham, Amelia Burnham, Evelyn Kemp, Adeline Kemp, Jacob Mihalko, and Kiera Mihalko; parents-in-law, John & Diane Hamel; a sister-in-law, Carey Hamel; aunts and uncles, Cindy & Mike Raby, Tom & Shawn Aylsworth, Jon & Paula Aylsworth, Marcia Kemp, and Shelley Kemp; and many, many cousins and dear friends.

Visitation with the family is from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at Christiansen's Michigan Cremation & Funeral Care, 511 S. Franklin Street, Greenville, where a sharing of memories will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday and conclude with everyone singing the Greenville High School fight song. Go Greenville, Go!

No formal services will be held and burial will take place privately in the Kemp Family Plot at Forest Home Cemetery in Greenville.

Instead of flowers, contributions in memory of Steve to either the Pheo Para Alliance https://pheopara.org/donate or to the Mental Health Coalition https://www.thementalhealthcoalition.org/donate/ would be appreciated by the family.

To send a message of sympathy to the family, sign Steve's online guest book, or to share a favorite memory or photo of Steve, please visit: www.MichiganCremation.com

Arrangements are entrusted to Christiansen's Michigan Cremation & Funeral Home, Greenville, 616-754-5638.