On Our American Stories, we often share tales of resilience and profound personal change. Today, we bring you the powerful marriage story of Steve Trice, the founder of Jasco Products. Growing up amidst numerous divorces and alcoholism, Steve and his wife Nan embarked on their own path, determined to build a lasting family. Yet, in those early years, Steve wrestled with intense workaholism, often leaving for work at seven and returning past eleven. This relentless pursuit of professional success put an immense strain on their new family life, creating a tension that would demand courageous action and a complete shift in priorities for their relationship to survive.
It was Nan’s unwavering commitment and clear conviction that ultimately helped Steve confront his challenging habits. Through pivotal moments and heartfelt conversations, Steve learned to step away from his all-consuming work schedule and fully embrace his role as a devoted husband and father. Their journey highlights the strength of a committed marriage and the deep life lessons learned when choosing family over career. Now, after nearly five decades, Steve and Nan’s strong relationship stands as a beacon, inspiring their children and grandchildren to cultivate faith, love, and a beautiful, enduring family legacy. This is a truly hopeful American story of growth and devotion.
📖 Read the Episode Transcript
When Nan and I talked about getting married when we were twenty-three, twenty-four years old, told her at one point, I said, “You don’t want to marry me. I don’t think you like it.” And she said, “What do you mean, I want to marry you?” And I said, “Well, I get up and go to work at seven o’clock in the morning, and I get home at eleven o’clock at night.” Because I had been trained up by my daddy, and I learned how to be. I wasn’t an alcoholic, but I was a workaholic. You know, I was getting my value out of my job. And she said, “I thought very naively at the time, Steve, that’s enough for me, that that’s okay, that’ll be great.” I said, “Oh, okay.” So we went ahead and got married, and a year later we had our first child. It wasn’t that literal. I wasn’t eleven o’clock every night. And then we had our second child pretty quick after that. At that point, I was off Target stores in Minneapolis. I’d leave Minneapolis. I’d go to Hong Kong, fly back to Tokyo, come back home, get back on the airplane, and go to Minneapolis. It was just constant. And one day Nan said, “Steve, tomorrow, Saturday, I’ve accepted a part-time job. I’m going to be working at a gift shop.” I said, “Oh, that’s neat. Who’s going to take care of the kids?” And she said, “Steve, I’ve been taking care of the kids for the last few years. It’s your problem. You figure it out.” The previous Saturday was the last Saturday that I ever worked. I never worked another Saturday. I had always worked on Saturday. So I started becoming a little bit better, and then we had a significant problem months later, and she said, “Steve, this thing of you being gone all the time, it’s not working.” And I said, “But wait a minute. Do you remember what she said back before we got married, that, you know, seven to eleven, if that was fine, that was all you needed?” She said, “Guess what? I’ve changed the rules. I’m not going to work anymore.” And I said, “Oh.” And after being raised in the family that I was raised in, I was scared to death that I was going to lose my family, and I would on that day. And I look back: Did I know the Lord Jesus Christ? No. Can I look back and see His hand on my life all the way through my life? And that day I knew that I didn’t want to lose my family, and I knew that I was getting ready to. And I went to my dad next day, and I said, “Dad, I’m not working after six o’clock anymore.” So now I’m Monday through Friday, early in the morning till six o’clock. And it got better and better and better and better. And I worked out of workaholism and learned it, and learned to take care of my family, to be a Boy Scout leader, to go on camp house with my kids, to go to the lake and spend weekends and water ski and all those things, and just loved being a family man. We had a fight one day. I remember exactly where it was: right outside of our master bathroom, in our bedroom. We had had an argument, and with my background and my mentality, I was fed up, and I said, “Honey, I’m out of here.” She kind of took about two steps forward and stood right in front of me, and she looked up at me, and she said, “Steve, you might be able to walk out that door, but I just want you to know, I can’t.” She said, “I said, ’till death do us part.’” And I believe it, and I’m committed to it. And you got to do what you got to do. But what I hope you’ll do is stand here with me, and we’ll work it out together. I can’t say enough about how my bride has helped me in my life. My bride, Nan, and I have now been married for forty-eight, almost forty-nine years. Our marriage is growing. Our marriage is getting better every day. We pray together. We asked the Lord to grow marriage. Our sons have been married nineteen and twenty years. We pray for them that the Lord will teach our sons how to love their wives, their wives how to love and respect their husband, that they’ll teach our sons and their wives how to train up their children and the way that they should go. Our oldest grandchild is thirteen, and we pray for her husband. She didn’t have a husband yet; she will someday, maybe. And we pray for our little eleven- and ten-year-old. Three little guys. We pray for their wives. We pray for their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren, and that they will grow up as God’s disciples following Him.
And great job, as always, to Alex, and special thanks to Steve Trice. We’re sharing that story, and it’s a humbling story. But that’s a lot of guys, and frankly, a lot of women, too. We have our problems that we bring to any marriage, and workaholism. Well, in the end, that was Steve’s getting his identity through work and having a wife who loved him enough to bring him out of that. As he put it, “I worked out of being a workaholic.” Steve Trice’s story, his brides, his family here on Our American Story. Folks, I you love the great American stories we tell and love America like we do, we’re asking you to become a part of the Our American Stories family. If you agree that America is a good and great country, please make a donation. A monthly gift of seventeen dollars and seventy-six cents is fast becoming a favorite option for supporters. Go to OurAmericanStories.com now, and go to the donate button and help us keep the great American stories coming. That’s OurAmericanStories.com.
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