Steve Probasco

After living a life of adventure, Steve Probasco left us for the great stream in the sky. Although he had defied death on numerous occasions, like the time a grizzly bear charged into his fishing cabin or when he contracted severe food poisoning during a mountain climbing expedition, it was ultimately Alzheimer’s that brought Steve to rest on Feb 8, 2025.

Steve was born in Yuma, Colorado, the baby of the family, and raised in Ellensburg, Washington where he developed his life-long passion for outdoor adventures. As a kid, he would spend his summer days fishing a small meadow stream that ran through his uncle’s ranch. He would later reflect in one of his books, “It was on this stream that I learned patience and a lot about life.”

Growing up in Ellensburg, Steve, in addition to fishing, pursued other outdoor activities including climbing (mountains, rock, and ice), drag-racing motorcycles, and he even earned his private pilot license. On trips back to Ellensburg to visit family and friends, Steve would often point out the various mountains he had summited, his routes, and tell stories about his adventurous youth.

It was in Ellensburg that Steve met Cindy, his future wife, while she was attending Central Washington University. Steve earned his EMT certification at CWU and courted Cindy through her first year of teaching. They soon married and moved to Raymond, Washington. Not long after, Steve joined the Raymond Fire Department, becoming the first paramedic in Pacific County. Over his career, he saved countless lives and even survived an ambulance fire (the melted metal blob remnant is still in the garage), adding yet another death-defying story to his collection.

During the hours when there wasn’t an emergency to attend to with the fire department, he developed his fly fishing writing/photography career - authoring countless articles that were published worldwide. After 13 years with Raymond Fire Department as the EMS Director and Assistant Chief, Steve left to pursue fly fishing writing and photography full-time and was soon the founding Editor-in-Chief of three fly fishing magazines - Northwest Fly Fishing, Southwest Fly Fishing, and Eastern Fly Fishing. 

Steve’s career as a writer and photographer allowed him to travel to places that most people only read about (often from his stories). It wasn’t uncommon to see a magazine cover with him holding a steelhead and a helicopter in the background waiting to take him to the next run. By the end of his illustrious career, Steve published nine fly fishing/fly tying books and became a well known figure in the fly fishing industry - often spending hours talking about fly fishing with strangers who would approach him at events where he was speaking. 

However, as someone who travelled around the world to “work”, he preferred to be home with his family. Steve and Cindy raised three children—Luke, Jordan, and Carly—and enjoyed spending time with his four grandchildren: Taylor, Amy, Mateo, and Sebastian. 

Next to his love of fishing and family was his passion for music. The family home was always alive with sound, whether from the stereo or the strumming of guitars. Steve encouraged his sons to learn guitar, and before neuropathy forced him to stop playing, he often joined them and their friends in rousing renditions of rock and roll staples and original compositions. 

Steve was immersed in music until he passed. The last album he heard was The Beatles' Abbey Road - and he took his last breath at the very end of the album, on the song “The End”. It was a phenomenal exit.

The family would like to thank the Raymond Fire Department, Willapa Harbor Care, and the Willapa Harbor Hospital for their exceptional care.