Lights dimmed for "Mr. Christmas'

Jack Steppelman stands in front of his house at 1122 Leslie Blvd. while his Winter Wonderland is on display.
Jack Steppelman stands in front of his house at 1122 Leslie Blvd. while his Winter Wonderland is on display.

Every year, Jack Steppelman brightened Jefferson City with his home Christmas lights display, and every year he said it would be his last. However, each year, lines of cars paraded by his home at 1122 Leslie Blvd., and he couldn't seem to stop the tradition.

"I enjoy it, but, oh brother, I'm getting old. No, I am old. But I'm happy," he told the News Tribune in 2010.

The retired downtown retailer was able to see his home transformed into a winter wonderland one last time during the holiday he so loved. On Monday - four days after Christmas - he died at the age of 85.

That night, Steppelman's Christmas display went dark for the first time this Christmas season, with one exception: His children lit a single light on a golden angel in the front yard.

The heart of his display was what he dubbed "Winter Wonderland," a miniature snow village with thousands of pieces he displayed in his garage in past years. He hired high school kids to start assembling the annual display as early as July.

"I'm usually in my family room, and sometimes I peek out and see little kids out there, and I take candy canes to them," he had said. "I'm surprised at how many older people who come. They drive up and get out of the car and see it."

Even local retirement homes would bus their residents to the display, and he received "thank-you" cards from people he had never met.

Before Steppelman was affectionately known as "Mr. Christmas," he was a prominent downtown retailer for nearly four decades. He opened Jacques Distinctive Fashions in 1955, and expanded the store over the years to include children's and bridal wear and tuxedos.

Steppelman and Sam Bushman of Samuel's Tuxedos & Gifts were friendly competitors since the early '70s.

"The downtown's going to miss Jack, and Jefferson City's going to miss Jack," Bushman said. "And we're going to really miss an individual who loved Jefferson City and loved the downtown. It's a Christmas tradition that's going to go by the wayside, and I hate to see that happen, too."

"Dad was just always fun-loving," daughter Stephanie Biggs said. "Everyone loved him because he was always kind and gracious to people. He was very honest, almost to a fault."

Born in Jefferson City, Steppelman came from a family of early German settlers to the area. Biggs said her father's love of Christmas started at an early age, when he would decorate the yard of his childhood house. At each house he lived in, his displays became more extravagant.

He cofounded "Christmas Card Lane," an ongoing tradition among Dixon Drive residents to create "Christmas cards" on sheets of plywood and display them in their yards around Christmas.

Bushman hopes Steppelman's legacy can be remembered through the Snow Village part of his Christmas display.

"It would be neat to put that up in one of our downtown storefronts every Christmas just to remember him," he said.

Also online:

Jack Steppelman's obituary and funeral details

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