As an upcoming estate auction prepares to open a window into the remarkable life the couple built together, many in the community are reflecting on Steven and Cecelia Orcutt not simply as collectors, but as two people whose creativity, generosity and joy left a lasting imprint on Iola and the surrounding area.
The auction, to be conducted online in two parts by Daniels Auction Service, will feature a wide array of items gathered over decades, from furniture and household pieces to art, collectibles, coins and jewelry. For those who knew them, the objects tell a larger story about the people behind them.
Steve Orcutt, who passed away in October 2025, spent most of his career as an art teacher, shaping generations of elementary students. Former McKinley and Jefferson Elementary principal Ken McGuffin remembers Steve as anything but conventional in the classroom. “He didn’t run a traditional classroom,” McGuffin said. “He always had exciting things going on.”
Students gravitated toward him, whether they were crowding around his spin art machine or examining artifacts he brought in from his ever-growing collection. McGuffin recalled that Orcutt’s love of collecting came naturally, influenced by his parents and the small museum his father, Harvey Orcutt, maintained in Humboldt. When schools held history-themed lessons, Steve was ready. “He would bring in something interesting for the kids to see,” McGuffin said, from antique tools to old coins.
That sense of fun and adventure extended beyond school walls.
McGuffin remembers a faculty Christmas party hosted at Harvey Orcutt’s museum, an unusual but fitting setting filled with artifacts. During the evening, Steve’s musical side took center stage.
A gifted vocalist, he frequently sang for students, school programs and community theater productions, often in leading roles.
One impromptu duet at the museum, performed alongside a fellow teacher, became a moment many remembered long after. “They just really delighted the whole faculty,” McGuffin said.
Steve’s generosity also showed up in small, personal ways. Knowing McGuffin loved to fish, he once gave him several antique wooden fishing lures from his collection. “I knew they were valuable,” McGuffin said.
Steve never asked for anything in return.
CECELIA Orcutt, who passed away in May 2025, was equally influential. She taught art for four decades at Iola High School, where her program became widely respected.
Tracy Call, one of Cecelia’s former students and later a close friend of the couple, credits her with shaping her creative path.
“She was my art teacher, who actually was the person who took me under her wing and taught me all about design and color,” Call said. “I’ve used it my whole life.”
Call’s connection with the Orcutts deepened over the years.
Steve taught her children, and she helped care for the couple’s lawn and gardens. Their friendship was built on shared laughter, projects and countless community events. “We were just friends,” Call said. “I went to all of their auctions and hung out with them.”
Those auctions were legendary in their own right. Steve, a licensed auctioneer, blended salesmanship and humor.
