Stephen Dominic Peller III

Stephen Dominic Peller, III, age 73, of Pass Christian, passed away Thursday, July 31, 2025.

Stephen Dominic Peller, III, was born on September 13, 1951, in Meridian, Mississippi, the only child of the late Stephen D. Peller Jr. and Yvonne Brewer Peller. Always sensing where the action was, he made it to Woodstock the summer before attending the University of Mississippi at Oxford, then landed in New Orleans to begin a successful career in insurance. Steve blossomed in New Orleans, loving the Gulf Coast, its people and restaurants, the Garden District and Pass Christian, Mardi Gras, and the Southern and Pass Christian Yacht Clubs.

Steve grew up on freshwater, waterskiing on lakes and rivers near his father’s hunting cabin, winning championships until he broke his leg on a submerged log. His zest for fun and friendship were contagious; his quick wit, sincere interest in other people, and his adventurous spirit grabbed your heart. He could fix anything—cars, houses, broken relationships—transforming strangers into friends on land, lake, river, or sea. Steve was particularly proud of his advance work for George H.W. Bush’s presidential campaigns. He partied with his Proteus Crewe and raced along the Gulf Coast and East Coast all the way to Cuba. He broke his foot on an America’s Cup yacht in Newport. He lived life to the fullest.

Steve married Mary Elizabeth Hays of Gulfport and New Orleans on Nov. 27, 2004, and shared a life of parties, close friends, standard poodles, and gourmet food. Steve’s smile and handshake greeted you at the door of their beautiful Prytania Street home (as did their giant poodles), a generous pour of bourbon warmed your soul (his collection was famous), and stories were told. At dinner, you learned that Steve was on intimate terms with barbeque, Boudin sausage, and turducken, a veritable pitmaster with his Green Egg. He and Mary knew every out-of-the-way New Orleans restaurant and bistro.

Steve also knew great sorrow. His only child, his beloved Christopher, died young. A double funeral was held February 26, 2016, in Metairie because Steve’s first wife, Signa “Sisi” Coiron Lamothe, died four days after Christopher of a broken heart.

Visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m. and the funeral service will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 9, 2025, at St. Peter’s-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Gulfport, Mississippi, with a reception at Gulfport Yacht Club following the service. (PCYC is hosting a big race that day that Steve would have loved.) From GYC you can see Steve’s beloved Cat Island, just over the horizon.

Riemann Family Funeral Home, Gulfport, is honored to serve the Peller family.