The Honorable Steven Leroy Selph

The Honorable Steven Leroy Selph died of heart failure on Monday, January 29, 2024. He was born in Romulus, New York, on April 26, 1954, to Linton Leroy Selph, Jr. and Mary Louise (Robinson) Selph. He grew up in Lakeland, Florida and attended Lakeland High School, University of South Florida, and Stetson Law School.

Judge Selph was a public servant for his entire legal career. In 1978 he began working as a prosecutor in the State Attorney's office. He joined Harris, Barrett, Mann, and Dew law firm in St. Petersburg in 1982. In 1988 he moved his family to Lakeland because he wanted his children to live in the same town in which he grew up. He worked with the Polk County Commission's legal staff. In 1993 he became Polk County's School Board attorney. On May 1, 1998, Steve was appointed by Governor Lawton Chiles as a judge to the County bench. In 2006 he was elected to the Circuit Court bench, taking office in 2007. Judge Selph retired from the judicial bench in 2021 and began doing mediation and arbitration with Miles Mediation Firm.

Steve lived on a farm with his wife, Cindy, where they raise alpacas and chickens. He enjoyed being outdoors and working with his hands. He designed and built the interior of two barns on their property and put in all the fences by hand. Steve loved history and had an incredible memory for details. He was always the winner in a game of Trivia. He also had a lifelong love of singing and playing the guitar and was a member of the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay in the early 1990s. Steve loved being with his grandchildren and taught them how to do farm chores and care for the animals.

He is preceded in death by his father, Linton Leroy Selph Jr., and brother, Gary Linton Selph.

He is survived by his mother, Mary Louise (Robinson) Selph, his sister, Charleen Selph Smith (David); his wife of almost 44 years, Cynthia (Stem) Selph; 3 children, Abigail Selph Collins (Jonathan), Audrey Selph (Joseph Higgins), Benjamin Selph (Jessica) and 4 grandchildren, Samuel and Susannah Collins, Niamh Higgins, and Lukas Selph, and many other loving family members and friends.

Steve Selph was a beloved son, brother, husband, father, and grandfather. He will be sorely missed.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, February 3, 2024, at 10 am at First United Methodist Church, 72 Lake Morton Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801.