Steve’s Story
Childhood
Dreams
Steve was born in 1948 at Fort Ord in California. His family eventually settled in Livermore, California where his father worked for the Lawrence Livermore Lab as a Russian translator. Steve graduated from Livermore High School where he was Diablo Valley League tennis champion. He attended California State College, Humboldt as well as Chico State. He graduated from California State College, Hayward. After graduation he moved to Lake Tahoe, where he was in charge of the Boulder ski lift at the Heavenly Ski Resort. He was the last one down the mountain every night. Steve also worked for the U.S. Forest Service and helped build several houses in the Tahoe area. He loved skating on the local lakes and hiking and camping in the surrounding mountains.
Primetime
The Golden
Years
Steve worked for the National Park Service at Yellowstone and Mount Rainier before moving to Yosemite National Park in 1989. He was employed in Yosemite as a Maintenance Mechanic which included carpentry, electrical and plumbing skills. While in Yosemite he hiked, skied, climbed, ice skated, swam, and jogged his way through life. He was loved by many for his humor and friendly banter. Steve volunteered for many different projects in the park and believed strongly in protecting the environment. While in Yosemite he met his future wife Darlece who shared his love of creating art. Steve and Darlece purchased 5 acres with a home and shop on Vashon Island in 2009.
Steve retired from the NPS in 2012 and joined Darlece and Kyla in Washington. He continued his love of hiking with their dogs and began work on restoring their property to its former beauty. Steve also became an enthusiastic bird watcher and became a member of the Vashon-Maury Island Garden Club and the Vashon Island Fruit Club. He had a good year of retirement before being diagnosed with two different cancers curtailed his activities. In spite of walking much of the time with a cane he still continued his walks when possible and was always positive about the future.
His sister, Karen, sums up everyone's feelings by stating: "Steven's sisters, Karen and Marilyn, have loved Steve for his wit, easygoing nature, warmth and ready smile. Karen's son, Kevin, and Marilyn's daughter, Jessica, both say that Steven was like a father to them. Steven has taught his daughters and numerous children, nieces, nephews and friends how to ski, mountain climb, fish, ice skate and hike to tops of mountains and through forests. His family already misses him but we are happy he is out of pain and suffering now and is at peace."