Steven "Steve" Jay Campbell

Steve was born in Aberdeen, WA to Evan and Ida Campbell and grew up in Florence, Oregon, where he attended Siuslaw High School. In 1959, he graduated with honors, serving as valedictorian of his class and was named the recipient of the State of Oregon Bausch and Lomb Science Award. Steve would often recount his slide rule drills during lunch and credited his high school math teacher with helping him excel in college prep math classes.

Steve graduated from Oregon State University with a BS degree in electrical engineering and was recently inducted into the OSU Hall of Fame for Engineers. After college, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his engineering career with Lockheed Martin where he would be part of the design team for the extremely successful SR-71 Blackbird’s navigational system.

Steve met Sandy Kahler during his sophomore year at Oregon State, and they married two years later. They moved to San Jose where his career would flourish with such companies as Intel and ROLM, and where they were blessed with two sons, Jay Steven and Lee Evan. During this same time Steve attended Santa Clara University where he received his master’s degree with honors in electrical engineering.

After leaving ROLM, Steve worked for Packet Cable, a small company attempting to design the first online shopping by cable. The company would close it doors and abandon the venture, but Steve believed there was tremendous opportunity in the technology he helped develop at Packet Cable. He and several others began their own company, Stratacom, using the technology to develop voice and data communications over the Internet. Because of Stratacom’s success and vision, CISCO Systems would later buy the tech firm to begin the expansion of the early Internet.

Steve married Carlota Franklin, his soul mate and best friend. They left the Bay area, moving to San Diego area where they could enjoy fishing, golf, and travel, including several special trips made to Italy with Steve’s sister, Kathy, and her husband Keith.

Steve loved to fish, a passion he learned and inherited from his father Evan. His favorite fishing grounds included Alaska and the Baja California coast where Steve would take his boat in November to fish for marlin, dorado, tuna, and wahoo. He enjoyed inviting his friends for weeklong fishing trip where shipmates fished from dawn to dusk, enjoying reminiscing and feasting over the days catch. Every June, Steve and three close friends chartered a boat to fish the icy Alaska waters for salmon, halibut and rock fish with Steve fishing until after midnight, hence earning him his moniker “ Captain Midnight”.

Steve is survived by his wife Carlota, step-daughter Amy, her children Siena, Katerina, and

Sterling; his youngest son Lee and his wife Sarah, and their children Reese and Kyle; and son Jay and wife Rebekah, and their children Noah, Lauren, Jameson, and Giana.

Steve loved Vivaldi's Four Seasons, good jazz, and this beloved poem of the Campbell family he chose to read for his father’s memorial on his passing…

Sunset and evening star, and one clear call for me,

And may there be no moaning at the bar, when I out to sea.

Twilight and evening bell, and after that the dark,

And may there be no sadness of farewell when I embark.

Steve enjoyed spirited discussions and loved to see how he could make life better for others. He

valued family, efficiency, hard work, and honesty. His warm smile, his love for life and unpretentious ways will be missed.

Rest in Peace Steven "Steve" Jay Campbell