Dr. Steve Oines went to be with his Lord and Savior on Friday evening, February 18, 2022. Although Heaven is rejoicing, he will be missed dearly by his family, friends, and countless others.
Steve was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 13, 1965. Shortly after, his family moved to San Antonio, Texas in 1968. Steve graduated from Churchill High School in 1983. He later graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Texas A&M University in 1988. From there, he attended medical school through the University of Texas in San Antonio. Dr. Oines moved to Temple, Texas to complete his residency at Scott and White Hospital. He was Board certified in 1995 and was re-certified in 2005, scoring in the top 90th percentile for both.
In 1993, during his time at Scott and White, Steve met Lynette. They were later married on June 3, 1995. Soon after, Steve and Lynette moved to Brownwood, Texas where he would begin his career as an Internal Medicine physician and become a father to his three children, Maddie, Abby, and Seth.
Dr. Oines was a dedicated physician to the Brownwood community for twenty-two years before retiring in late 2017, due to his diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s. Dr. Oines, along with Dr. Tom Byrd and Dr. Dave Morales, opened the original Heart of Texas Internal Medicine clinic in 1995. After years of ownership of the clinic, the Brownwood Regional Medical Center bought the Heart of Texas Internal Medicine clinic. Because of Dr. Oines’ dedication and care for his patients, he continued seeing patients through the clinic while also remaining a hospitalist.
Dr. Oines held multiple roles during his time as a physician. At the hospital, he was a staff physician from 1995 to 2017. During these years, he served as the Chief of Medicine, ICU Medical Director, Pharmacy Medical Director, Chief of Staff, and Vice Chief of Staff, as well as served as a part of the Physician Leadership Group and a member of the Board of Trustees.
Other roles he held were Medical Director of SongBird Lodge, Senior Care, Brownwood Nursing and Rehabilitation, Cross Country Healthcare Center, Standards of Care, and Oak Ridge Manor. He was the Medical Director of Solaris Hospice from 2006 to 2017. Solaris honored Dr. Oines with the Tactus Solatorum award, meaning “Touch of the Comforter” in 2018.
Other awards Dr. Oines was honored with included Physician of the Second Quarter in 2017 by the staff of Brownwood Regional Medical Center and Professional of the Year in 2018 by the Brownwood Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, in 2018, the ICU waiting room was named after Dr. Oines in honor of his countless hours of service to the Brownwood hospital.
Dr. Oines valued serving his community. Some of his community service included annual free sports physicals for all high schools and middle schools in Brown County for twenty-two years, community lectures at the hospital, and teaching many medical school students as well as other medical vocations including nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, etc.
In addition to his role as a physician, Steve was a man of great faith. He was a strong spiritual leader both in his church and in his family. Steve and his family were committed members of the First United Methodist Church in Brownwood. Steve, along with his wife Lynette, taught Sunday School through the children’s ministry. Additionally, Steve served faithfully on the Board of Directors of the FUMC Weekday Preschool program for fourteen years.
Steve was also a dedicated soccer coach for his daughter Maddie and his son Seth for sixteen years. He provided mentorship to many young athletes during his time as a coach.
Steve had many interests including playing sports, hunting, camping, fishing, water skiing, snowboarding, spending time with family and friends, and watching his favorite football team, the Texas A&M Aggies. Steve was a devoted Aggie throughout his lifetime. Steve’s family has countless memories of visiting College Station and attending Aggie football games. He never missed an opportunity to yell “Gig ’em!” with a thumbs up.
Most importantly, Steve was an incredible family man and a dedicated husband and father. He adored his wife, Lynette, and continuously gave recognition to all she did as a wife and a mother. Steve never missed an opportunity to see his kids do what they loved. He was at almost every awards ceremony, sports game, concert, and recital, even if he came straight from work in his scrubs. He was always proud of his children and reminded them that they could accomplish the world. Steve inspired his wife and children to continue his legacy of kindness, humility, and living his life for others.
Steve was preceded in death by his father, Dr. Donald Oines, his mother, Shirley Oines, and his father-in-law, Johnny Barrett. He is survived by his wife of twenty-six years, Lynette, his children, Maddie, Abby, and Seth, his brothers, Jeff, Dan, and Greg, his mother-in-law, JoAnn Barrett, his sisters-in-law, Christie, Tammy, Pam, and Karen, his brother-in-law, Jack, as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.
Steve’s family wants to thank multiple people including Dr. Amy Tindol, Dr. Tom Byrd, his best friend, Don Crook, many of Steve’s friends from San Antonio that supported Steve while in memory care, Solaris Hospice, Bradlee Dodds, and other friends and family that have supported them throughout this difficult season.
A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held at the First United Methodist Church on Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 2:00pm. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Alzheimer’s Association at https://www.alz.org/nca/donate or Alzheimer’s disease research through the BrightFocus Foundation in memory of Dr. Steve Oines.
Condolences, memories, and tributes can be offered to the Oines family online at heartlandfuneralhome.net.