Steve was born in Rapid City, SD, in 1955 to a military family. His father, Richard Sr., was stationed at the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB at the time. Steve joined his older siblings, Deborah and Richard, in traveling with their parents from base to base. Steve’s younger siblings, Valerie, Cathy, Carol, and Jon, were born in a scattering of bases while the family constantly moved. Steve’s mother, Willie Lee, having lived in Japan before Steven’s birth, could still speak a little Japanese fifty years later.
Steve often reminisced about life on military bases. From fishing with his father and older brother on the Milk River near Glasgow AFB to neighbors knocking on the door to borrow a cup of sugar. These were happier times in Steve’s childhood, when he felt secure within a community of people all working towards common goals and helping each other out. Being part of the military community ended in 1966 when Richard Sr. retired from Patrick AFB.
The family’s 1966 move off base to Merritt Island, Florida, was a shock to all the children. It was the first time they encountered segregation. No longer were they a part of the community that had protected them until now. The transition was hard, and while Steve’s siblings adapted, he did not. His stubbornness and ideals had already been forged, leaving him in search of a place where discrimination didn’t exist, and humanity could reach its full potential - space.
Steve found his refuge after the first episode of Star Trek aired in 1966. Star Trek exemplified humanity at its best - all working towards a common goal and supporting each other, with the awe and wonder of space as a backdrop. He studied hard to prepare for the military in order to become an astronaut. He watched all the Cape Canaveral launches. He said that he had front-row seats to the best fireworks in the world.
Steve was forever grateful to those at Merritt Island High who helped him reach for his dream of space. From the principal who gave him his first slide rule to the math teacher who gave him a Schaum’s Outline to help him study Calculus. He remembered making sheets of paper from brown paper grocery bags to do practice problems. His belief in the ability of Calculus to open up doors also led him to ensure his sister Valerie took up the math behind classical physics. He also never forgot the physics teacher who drove him to FSU to do research for the science project that won him a college scholarship.
Steve spoke highly of the coach who convinced him he could juggle both his studies and football. Coach Thomas provided the only support Steve had as a player since there was never anyone in the stands cheering him on. Steve loved to recall his contribution to the Merritt Island Mustangs 1972 State Championship win. He would slip on his jersey decades later.
An asthma attack would end Steve's first dream of space. He would be unable to attend the military academies he had received nominations for. He could not become an astronaut. Instead, he used the full-ride college scholarship offered to him as a winner in the Florida State Science Fair. This would set him on a new path and eventually to space, albeit in a different way than he had originally imagined. He studied physics at Rollins College, where he met his future wife, Leslie, at a candied apple party. In 1976, Steve moved on to the ‘Big Apple’ to study electrical engineering at Columbia University. Fortunately, Leslie and her bag of homemade meals were just a train ride away in Connecticut.
In 1978, Steve began a new adventure as a husband to Leslie and as an engineer at the Federal Systems Division of IBM in Manassas, VA. He worked on both military and space programs, earning a number of patents. His proudest achievement was the design and architecture of the computer for NASA’s robotic spacecraft Cassini, sent to study Saturn. While he couldn’t leave Earth, his inventions had.
Steve’s love of space and education was passed onto his children Ashley, Sarah, Dana, and Alex. This led to extra Daddy-assigned homework, including 80s educational PC games Reader Rabbit and Math Climbers, to their dismay. There were also trips to air and space museums, art galleries, and natural history museums, which were all much better than Math Climbers.
In 1992, Steve took part in the Merlin Helicopter Program, based in Portsmouth, England. His family of 6 moved to the English seaside in Bognor Regis. Their British experience was an excellent introduction to the world beyond US borders. The region was home to a Roman palace, cathedrals and castles. Paris was across the channel, and even a Nile cruise wasn’t too far away. Although the children may have enjoyed their weekend walks with Steve to the Bognor Regis Burger King more than climbing castle ramparts and baking in the Egyptian sun.
In the years following the family’s return to the States, Steve worked for TRW and Raytheon. When asked about “take your child to work days,” the kids can only remember staring at the back of his head while he was on his computer. His downtime was often filled with soccer practice, games and coaching…. sometimes to the embarrassment of the kids. He also would stand out in the cold, wet field and look through a telescope with them at the stars. When teenagehood rolled around, Steve white-knuckled it through teaching the four kids how to drive to varying degrees of success. He also ensured that they all took calculus.
As the kids went off to college, Steve continued his keen interest in their education by always making time to read and provide feedback on research papers. From an undergraduate to doctoral level, he read everything his kids wrote. He never stopped reading their papers - or later their spouse’s papers.
When Steve and his wife retired, they sold the family home and set off on a new adventure, touring the US in their RV for over a decade. Wherever Steve went, he built community in his own way - usually by chatting and debating people around the RV parks. His love for education and learning new things would always shine through. His favorite conversations were when he was given a new perspective. New friends were made, and new places were explored.
Their nomadic wandering slowed down with the start of a new chapter: the birth of their grandson, named after Carl Sagan, in 2017. Steve got to enjoy a new companion for nap time, a new child to teach, and a new future born. Steve was keenly interested in Sagan’s education, whether it be digging for fossils or preparing him for his future Calculus class. Steve’s love of space has also been passed on to his grandson, who loves looking for aliens at night.
When Steve was diagnosed with cancer, he turned to science and devoured every research paper he could find. He again found himself in a place that did not share his ideals - medical science moved too slowly and was too scattered. He advocated for himself and held fast to his self-determination until the end, as he had always done. He then took refuge in the family and community he had built for himself, with visits and frequent phone calls from siblings Val, Jon, Carol, and Deborah, and close friends. His wife and kids watched Perry Mason with him. He passed on 26th August 2026, surrounded by his loving wife and children. He will be missed.
Ad Astra.
