Steven Michael Tappa

Funeral services and Mass of Christian Burial for Steven Tappa, 58, of Bettendorf, will be held at Noon on Monday, June 24, 2024, at Christ the King Chapel at St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA. Burial will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Davenport. Visitation will be 10am - 6pm Saturday, June 22, at the Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home, Davenport, and at the Christ the King Chapel on Monday from 10am until time of services. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to his sons.

 Mr. Tappa passed away on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at his home in the arms of his sons.

 Steven Michael Tappa was born February 5, 1966, in Iowa City, a son of James and Cheryl (Quick) Tappa. He graduated from Bettendorf High School and earned his Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communications from St. Ambrose University, and it was there that he met Martha Garcia, and they were united in marriage on April 16, 1994, in Moline.

 Steve showed a talent for writing at an early age and went on to become an award-winning sportswriter and tv/radio personality covering multiple sports all over the Quad City Area and beyond, meeting and interviewing the top professionals in their respective sports. During his sports writing career he covered the Chicago Bears, Continental Basketball Association Quad City Thunder, Chicago Bulls, John Deere Classic, Quad City Mallards, River Bandits, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox baseball. He not only covered local QC Steamwheelers indoor football team, but most recently kept statistics for the team. 

 He was much sought after for his stories told from the heart, articles, and statistics. Steve jokingly referred to himself as the “Rain Man of stats”. He worked as a sportswriter for the Moline Dispatch from 1989-2019 and later as a sportscaster for WQAD, MC22 TV, and a podcaster for QCSportsNet. He was the broadcasting director for the St. Ambrose TV station from 1991-95, and KALA radio. Additionally, he was a writer for numerous publications including the QC Business Journal, St. Ambrose Alumni Publication, and the Illinois Press Association. He was passionate about seeing people succeed and loved to teach kids how to express themselves by writing.

  Writing was not his only passion. He loved baseball and coaching his son’s youth teams and was the longtime commissioner of Bettendorf/ Pleasant Valley Baseball League (BPV).

 Those left to honor his memory include his sons Michael and AJ Tappa; former wife Martha Garcia-Tappa; parents James and Cheryl Tappa; brothers Robert (Theresa) Tappa, James Tappa Jr; sister Tonya (John) Marx all of Bettendorf; and many nieces and nephews.

 He was preceded in death by his grandparents Orlyn and Fern Quick and Bernard and Lorraine Tappa.