Stephen “Steve” Gattis

Stephen “Steve” Riley Gattis, 76, of Wake Forest, passed away peacefully on Sunday morning, November 23, 2025 at Perry Creek Health & Rehabilitation Center.

Steve was born on August 16, 1949 in Durham County to the late Claude & Hazel Riley Gattis. After attending Southwood Junior College for two years, he began his career as the desk manager at the Holiday Inn in Durham, NC. He later became the training manager at Burlington Mills Industries in Durham, where he worked for several years before the company began layoffs and ultimately closed.

Steve then worked at Northern Telecom/Nortel in Research Triangle Park for the next 17 years in the warehouse as an inventory & supply handler. One of his favorite memories during this time was traveling with a few coworkers to work at another company's plant in Canada for a few weeks, an experience he spoke of fondly throughout his life.

After Nortel began laying off employees, Steve went to work at the NC Wildlife Resource Commission. He and his bossman worked in a warehouse off of Reedy Creek Rd. in Raleigh, NC, where they ordered supplies & ammunition for the Wildlife Officers. He helped with inventory & took great pride in mowing the grass on the property. Steve often said this was his favorite job, and he retired after 10 years of service.

Steve also volunteered at SC events at several schools & churches. One of his greatest joys was being “Santa Steve,” proudly serving as one of Santa’s helpers and was a part of Triangle Santas Buddies, lifting the spirits of children & adults from all around the world. He did this for over 25 years and was promoted to “Santa Emeritus”. He was a member of Youngsville Baptist Church.

Mr. Gattis is survived by his wife of 33 years, who he shared 38 beautiful years with, Brenda Brewer Gattis; his step-son, Curtis Adam Riley, Jr. & wife Hope of Sanford; step-daughters, Karyn Gaines & husband Aaron of Sanford and Dawn Pickard & husband William of Sanford; grandchildren, Hayley Walker & husband Daniel, Macey Barrow & husband Sam, Jackson Gaines, Dare, Anah, and Larken; great-grandchildren, Atlas & Edith Walker;  nieces & nephews: Lisa Seeger & husband Robert and their daughter, Bianca; Kristen Thomas & husband Leslie and their daughters, Sophia & Raquel; and Eric Artom of Asheville; close friends Curtis & Kathy Umphlett; Brenda’s loving group of retired work colleagues and their families who supported Steve and Brenda every step of the way, Anita, Brenda D., Deborah, Frances, Gayle, Judy, Kay, Jeannette, Linda, Margaret and Mary Jane; as well as extended family & friends.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Ann Jones Gattis (1980); his sister, Claudia Gattis(2019); and his brother, George Artom(2018).

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Youngsville Baptist Church, 315 E Main St, Youngsville, NC 27596 and Transitions LifeCare, 250 Hospice Cir, Raleigh, NC 27607

A celebration of life will be held at 2 o'clock, Saturday, March 21, 2026, at Clancy Strickland Wheeler Funeral Home, 1051 Durham Road, Wake Forest, NC 27587. 

www.cswfuneralhome.com