I went to college with Romeo.  We were housemates for the last two years and declared majors together our sophomore year and so we passed some serious time together.  We also, of course, skied together during spring breaks.  We lived and hung out with a close group of friends through a transformative period of our lives.  My memories of Steve are still strong.  He was above all an excited, tolerant and open-minded person who didn’t give a rat’s ass of what other people thought of him.  Although he occasionally pushed boundaries, his exuberance, energy, and irreverence were contagious and I wouldn’t trade my time with him for anything. 

It is hard to pin-point a single defining moment.  It also doesn’t do the man justice to name just a few.  The boy could really turn it on and elevate your day to day experience.  He was also sensitive and there were times when life slowed down and you could ruminate on friends and the future.  When someone like Steve passes on, there is not only the initial sharp pain from losing someone we cared for, there is also the longer ache of knowing any future chance of reconnecting with someone who would elevate your life experience, no matter where and when you reconnected, is now gone. 

Peter Raymond, Marist ‘93
Professor of Ecosystem Ecology, Yale University