Stephen Elliott Daniels

Stephen Elliott Daniels, 24, of Newton died on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013, in St. Louis, Mo.

A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory in Newton. The family will greet friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Dollars for Scholars may be left at the funeral home.

Stephen, the son of Duane L. and Joy (Osborn) Daniels, was born on Aug. 5, 1989, in Davenport, Iowa. As a young child he lived in Davenport and Parkview, Iowa, before moving to Newton, Iowa, to start his kindergarten year.

Stephen graduated from Newton Senior High School in 2008. While in high school, Stephen played the French horn and holds a school swimming relay record. In 2012, he received degrees in math and physics from the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. During college, he was a highly requested swim lesson instructor. Stephen was currently working at Caleris in Newton. He was a very talented and intelligent young man with a witty sense of humor who loved his family and friends and was affectionately called “Uncle Stephen.” Stephen enjoyed playing League of Legends with his friends and built his own gaming computer. He was also an Iowa Hawkeye and Chicago Bears fan.

Those left to honor Stephen’s memory are his parents, Duane Daniels and Joy Osborn-Daniels of Newton; sister, Morgan Daniels of Newton; maternal grandfather, Dick Osborn of Calamus, Iowa; paternal grandmother, Eunice Daniels of Kewanee, Ill.; his girlfriend, Amanda Jones of Newton; and his many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandmother, Sally Jones; maternal step-grandmother, Trudy Osborn; and his paternal grandfather, Donald Daniels.