Steve Demmer

Steve was born in Orlando, Florida on December 15, 1957. His parents were Larry and Caroline and he was the 4th of 5 children. Rick and Janet were half siblings, Janet having been the daughter of Larry, and Rick the son of Caroline from previous marriages. He had an older full sister, Cathy and a younger full brother, Kurt. He is survived by Rick, Janet, and Kurt, both parents and Cathy pre-deceased him.

As a child in Orlando, Steve was precocious, curious, and a natural comedian. All who knew him, smile when they remember his humor. He made friends easily and was a good brother to his four siblings. He loved to play baseball and was on little league teams through most of his childhood. Steve attended Colonial High School where he was in photo club and liked to make short 8mm movies with his brother, Kurt and some of their friends. He was also a member of the high school yearbook committee. It was in high school that he first became interested in collecting coins, a passion that continued throughout his life. When he was old enough, he worked in the kitchen at Kilroy's restaurant.

Steve and Susan met in Orlando in 1989 where Steve worked for Orlando Utilities as a meter reader during the day, and a disc jockey for a local jazz station at night. At that time, Susan was a retail manager for the 5, 7, 9 clothing chain, who had recently been transferred to Orlando from New Orleans. Steve and Susan's first meeting was in a park near Susan's apartment where Steve was the MC for a concert sponsored by the radio station where he was moonlighting. At the concert, they flirted and talked. They dated briefly, and when Susan decided to move to L.A. 9 months later, Steve offered to drive. Somewhere in Texas love blossomed. Steve stayed with Susan in L.A. and they were married on September 29, 1990. Steve worked for about 3 years reading meters for the City of Beverly Hills. In 1994, early in their marriage, Steve and Susan moved to Bend, Oregon, where they owned the Gandy Dancer restaurant for about one and a half years. They returned to L.A. in 1995 where Steve began working for the Big Blue Bus in Santa Monica. He continued to work for the Big Blue Bus until his death at home, last week on December 16, one day after his 58th birthday. Steve and Susan lived in the same house where they were married, 25 years ago.

During his years in the L.A. area, Steve was an active member of society and served on a number of community boards in Santa Monica and his neighborhood. At the time of his death, Steve was a coin dealer and was the president of the Bay Cities Coin Club until just before his death. Steve was also a member of the Angel City Choral group and loved to sing. He also loved to bake and specialized in cakes, which he made for birthdays and other occasions, or just because.

We learned that Steve had colon cancer in May of this year. Throughout his ordeal, Steve was positive and determined to fight the disease. In his last days, Steve remained positive, and never complained. He enjoyed seeing his friends one last time during his hospice days, and was often smiling in spite of being in severe pain. His last thoughts were of his wife, Susan. In his last hour, she was with him, they professed their loved for each other, and shared a last kiss minutes before his last breath.