Steven Alan Lietz, 59, of Shepherdstown, passed away Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012.

Born Dec. 13, 1952, in Point Pleasant, N.J., he is the son of Donald Armin Lietz, of Bayonet, Fla., and Barbara Murray Meidhof, of Toms River, N.J.

Steve was a professor and academic counselor at Montgomery College in Rockville, Md. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Towson State University, a Master of Education degree from Salisbury State University and a Doctorate of Education from Wilmington College.

He was devoted to his wife and students with many interests and a heroic history. Steve was an avid Harley Davidson rider, gardener, environmentalist, artist and music lover. As a boy, he survived polio and went on to become an elite athlete. He competed as a wheelchair athlete on the U.S. Team for the Disabled at the World Games in Assen, Holland, in 1990 and on the U.S. Team at the Pan Am Games for the Disabled in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1990, where he broke a world record in short distance track. In 1994, he represented the U.S. at the Paralympic Games in Berlin, Germany. Steve raced nationally in multiple marathons and mid-distance events and won the Marine Corps Marathon’s Wheelchair Division in 1997.

In addition to his parents, he is survived by his wife, Frances Elizabeth Brolle, of Shepherdstown; his son, Steven Harris and wife, Alisa, of Canaan, N.H.; 10 grandchildren; four brothers, Donald Lietz, of Princess Anne, Md., Robert Lietz, of Levittown, Pa., Paul Lietz, of St. Augustine, Fla., and Craig Lietz, of Toms River, N.J.

A celebration of life service will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, 2012, at Eackles-Spencer & Norton Funeral Home, 256 Halltown Road, Harpers Ferry/Charles Town, with Daniel Oravec officiating.

The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 p.m. at the funeral home, prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Shepherdstown Public Library, earmark new library project, P.O. Box 278, Shepherdstown, WV 25443.

Condolences to the family may be expressed at his obituary at www.eackles-spencerfuneralhome.com.