Steve and I were close in High School and lived near each other. There were 3 of us that ran around a lot together, the third being Greg Hesse for whom I have seen nothing. One thing about Steve G. that I do not think many people knew was that he was a brilliant artist and particularly liked cartoons. There are many things I would like to talk about with him that I will never get the chance.
After SGHS, Steve went to USC, then taught math at Crenshaw HS in LA. He visited me in Wisconsin in the late 70's with his first wife, Judy (DeAngelo?) while on his summer break. After that marriage broke up, he started coming to WI for at least part of every summer. I think he liked the fact that people here drink a lot of beer. He eventually relocated here with a woman from Sonora who would become his second wife, and also become his second ex-wife, in the mid-80's. He took another teaching job at Watertown, WI, high school, retiring in, I think, 2006. About that same time, he was diagnosed with malignant melanoma -- not skin cancer, but an aggressive form of cancer that acts a bit like the "whack a mole" game in which it can be defeated at one point and then pop up elsewhere in the body. In Steve's case if first appeared as a skin blemish near his eye and was subsequently found in his stomach, lungs and brain. His brain tumor was removed, only to return with fatal results in 2008. He never had childrern but was very fond of and kind to Jack and Sarah, our two. His older sister, Beverly, lives in Missouri. He was the first person with whom I made friends when moving to SG in mid-7th grade. We grew apart in the turbulent 60's, but reconnected and were friends until the day he died. He loved camping, any music recorded before 1970 (with the post-'70 exception of Warren Zevon), reading mystery novels (especially those of Rex Stout and Agatha Christie), working crossword puzzles (he edited the LA Times crossword, written by his friend Barry), baseball (he did volunteer work, mainly looking for mistakes in the record books, for the Society of American Baseball Research), listening to Public Radio (especially old radio drama), and yes, beer -- particularly cheap beer. He spent many a summer day sitting at his picnic table with a case of Blatz, a crossword puzzle, and a radio tuned to a baseball game. He was easily the most intelligent person I've ever known. He had no tolerance for ignorance or deceit or (don't be offended) right-wing politics. He was my friend for 50 years. There is hardly a day goes by that I don't think of him. He passed away about 8 months before I, too, retired and I feel robbed of the times we could have shared together. My wife Connie and I feel blessed to have had him as a friend.
Martha Egdorf (Pegueros)
We lost Steve in 2008 at the age of 62. He died from a stroke. Steve will be missed and gone too soon! - Martha Egdorf Pegueros
RuthAnn Leonard (Hill)
He was ahead of his time in high school--way out of my league. He walked to the beat of his own drum; he was brilliant. I'm so sorry for your loss.
William Hester
Steve and I were close in High School and lived near each other. There were 3 of us that ran around a lot together, the third being Greg Hesse for whom I have seen nothing. One thing about Steve G. that I do not think many people knew was that he was a brilliant artist and particularly liked cartoons. There are many things I would like to talk about with him that I will never get the chance.
Greg Hesse
After SGHS, Steve went to USC, then taught math at Crenshaw HS in LA. He visited me in Wisconsin in the late 70's with his first wife, Judy (DeAngelo?) while on his summer break. After that marriage broke up, he started coming to WI for at least part of every summer. I think he liked the fact that people here drink a lot of beer. He eventually relocated here with a woman from Sonora who would become his second wife, and also become his second ex-wife, in the mid-80's. He took another teaching job at Watertown, WI, high school, retiring in, I think, 2006. About that same time, he was diagnosed with malignant melanoma -- not skin cancer, but an aggressive form of cancer that acts a bit like the "whack a mole" game in which it can be defeated at one point and then pop up elsewhere in the body. In Steve's case if first appeared as a skin blemish near his eye and was subsequently found in his stomach, lungs and brain. His brain tumor was removed, only to return with fatal results in 2008. He never had childrern but was very fond of and kind to Jack and Sarah, our two. His older sister, Beverly, lives in Missouri. He was the first person with whom I made friends when moving to SG in mid-7th grade. We grew apart in the turbulent 60's, but reconnected and were friends until the day he died. He loved camping, any music recorded before 1970 (with the post-'70 exception of Warren Zevon), reading mystery novels (especially those of Rex Stout and Agatha Christie), working crossword puzzles (he edited the LA Times crossword, written by his friend Barry), baseball (he did volunteer work, mainly looking for mistakes in the record books, for the Society of American Baseball Research), listening to Public Radio (especially old radio drama), and yes, beer -- particularly cheap beer. He spent many a summer day sitting at his picnic table with a case of Blatz, a crossword puzzle, and a radio tuned to a baseball game. He was easily the most intelligent person I've ever known. He had no tolerance for ignorance or deceit or (don't be offended) right-wing politics. He was my friend for 50 years. There is hardly a day goes by that I don't think of him. He passed away about 8 months before I, too, retired and I feel robbed of the times we could have shared together. My wife Connie and I feel blessed to have had him as a friend.