City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
William Steven Lemasters
Cary, North Carolina
Age 87.
Died 11/07/2025.
1938 – 2025
William Steven “Steve” Lemasters, 87, of Cary, North Carolina, passed away peacefully on November 7, 2025. He was surrounded by the love of his family and the comfort of a life well-lived.
Born in Citra, Florida in 1938, Steve grew up on his family’s orange grove, where his lifelong love of gardening first took root. From citrus trees in his youth to flower beds and vegetable gardens in every home he lived in, his gardens were a living reflection of his patience and dedication.
He earned his undergraduate degree in engineering from Georgia Tech and a master’s degree at the University of Florida. His early career took him to NASA, where he contributed to the pioneering spirit of American space exploration. He later spent nearly 30 years as an Industrial Engineer at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York, where his problem-solving and management skills, as well as his kindness and empathy, left a lasting mark.
Soon after moving to Rochester in the 1960s, Steve opened a before-its-time Southern BBQ restaurant—an endeavor that, while ultimately short-lived, reflected his entrepreneurial spirit and deep love of good food.
After retiring in 1995, Steve and his wife, Aloma, relocated to North Carolina, settling on the shores of Lake Norman. There, they found joy in the pleasures of lake life—delighting in hosting friends, children and grandchildren, cruising on their pontoon boat, and enjoying the serenity of the water.
A man of many talents, Steve had a passion for building and flying model airplanes, and he never met a home project he couldn’t tackle, personally building a basement rec room in one home to adding a bedroom and bathroom in another. In his later years, Steve turned his attention to writing, researching and self-publishing books about his family’s history and the legacy of the orange groves that shaped his early life in Florida. His hands were rarely still, and his mind was always at work.
He is survived by his devoted wife of 47 years, Aloma, his three daughters from his first marriage to Adrienne Dawson, Margaret (Mike) Lively, Leslie (Andy) Cowen and Mary Scheuermann, stepdaughter Jennifer Neisner (Peter Balint-Kurti), seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother, John Lemasters, III and his stepson, Robert Neisner. Steve’s legacy lives on in the lives he touched, the gardens he grew, and the family he cherished.
A Celebration of Life will be held on January 16 at 11:00 a.m. at Mother Teresa Catholic Church in Cary, NC.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina in his memory.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.