William Stephen Robinson (Steve), age 75, passed away on January 16, 2026.

Memorial services for William Stephen Robinson (Steve), age 75 of Forsyth, Missouri will be held February 7^th at the Snapp-Bearden Chapel in Forsyth at 1:00pm CT.

Steve left this life for a new adventure on the morning of January 16, 2026.

William Stephen Robinson was born Dec. 13, 1950 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was the son of William Clifton Robinson and Barbara Jane Manchester Robinson. Steve graduated from Tullahoma High School after which he enlisted in the United States Navy where he became a radioman and member of SEAL Team 1 during the Vietnam era. After leaving active duty, he attended Motlow College in Tullahoma and the University of Alabama in Huntsville.  He worked in the Defense Industry in Huntsville as a Technical Writer/Editor, Soviet Threat Analyst. During this time, he also served in the Navy Reserves.  After moving to Taney County in 1993, he became the blacksmith at Silver Dollar City for 5 seasons from 1994 through 1998. Through Silver Dollar City’s International festival, he met a group of Russian blacksmiths and because he spoke fluent Russian, they invited him to work with them at their home forge in Russia. While there, he was inducted into the Russian Federation of Blacksmiths as a Master Smith in 1998, the first American to ever do so.

Steve also served on the board of directors for the POW Network and worked with Cyber Seals, a group dedicated to verifying SEAL credentials and outing imposters claiming to be SEALs. He wrote a book, No Guts, No Glory Unmasking Navy SEAL Impostors, detailing his investigations and documentation used to expose Stolen Valor. 

Steve married Sharon Lynn (Everett) Riffe in 1991 in Daytona Beach Florida, They celebrated thirty-four years together last summer. He moved to the Forsyth area from Huntsville, Alabama.

Steve had a passion for knowledge and a creative mind which he expressed through blacksmithing, silversmithing, flint knapping, leather work, writing and drawing.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Barbara Robinson.

Steve is survived by his wife Sharon, children: Stephen Anthony Robinson (Christine), Karen Marie Baker (Cole), Kristin Therese Goodman (Mike), Richard Michael Robinson (Sloan) and Jeffrey L. Riffe (Cynthia), eleven grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and siblings Alan Ward Robinson (Sharon), Donna Robinson Sanders, Thomas Edward Robinson (Traci), Judith Robinson King.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his honor to: the P.O.W. Network at pownetwork.org or the Gary Sinise Foundation at garysinisefoundation.org.