Friends and family,

Steve died peacefully last night, with us all by his side and showering him with love. He passed with the same grace with which he lived, no doubt on his way to a perfect wave waiting for him.

While it's hard to imagine a world where we don't wish for more time with our wonderful Steve, our hearts are full in knowing that we will be honoring his life in so many ways and we feel grateful that he was let in on some of those plans over the past couple of months.

We'd like to invite you to join us for an open house to celebrate Steve this Sunday, from 1-4pm at Ginny and Steve's house. We'll raise a glass to toast to the exceptional spirit that Steve shared with all of us and that we have the privilege of carrying forward. We have also established a Steve Gates Memorial Scholarship Fund with the Hood River County Education Foundation, where donations in lieu of flowers will be welcomed. If you would like to contribute, details are below.

We'll leave you today with this photo of Steve, courtesy of his good friend Rountree. Smiling that big Steve smile and radiating his limitless warmth and joy.

With love,
Ginny, Erin and Jodie

In the spirit of Steve's giving nature and values of education and community service, we have established a scholarship fund to assist deserving Hood River Valley High School students with college expenses. If you wish to contribute to the Steve Gates Memorial Scholarship Fund, checks can be made out and sent to the HRCEF, 1011 Eugene St, Hood River, OR 97031. Please include Steve's name in the check memo to make sure it gets to the right place.