STEVEN CURTIS CERIANI

January 29, 1947 - December 1, 2018

Steven Curtis Ceriani passed away on December 1, 2018.  Steve struggled deeply over the last years of his life with disease.  It was not a brief struggle.  For years and years now he could not walk or talk or even eat normally.  It was terrible to see him so diminished. According to his wife Jane, there will be no services.

Events in life unfold so unpredictably; and sometimes so unfairly.  Human happiness does not seem to have been included in the design of creation.  We certainly can never demand happiness, we can only appreciate it when it happens to happen.

It is only the human factor, with our capacity to love, that gives meaning to this indifferent universe.  We strive to derive joy from the simple things like our families and our friendships, which we all cherish.

This is what I chose to remember of Steve.  I knew him since the first grade at Alta Heights School.  We became close and dear friends.  Steve met our other wonderful friends then as well - Paul Vallerga, Mike Kerns, David Johnson, Mike Crane, Dave Bastian, Ron Weien.  Later, at Alta Heights we met Shev Aguilar, Wally Keller, Mike Soon, Bruce Erricson, and Len Casanega.  We all went to Silverado Junior High except for Erricson and Aguilar.  At Silverado Steve we met Doug Murray who became an instant friend. 

The 1957 Alta Heights Warriors

Front row from left: Wally Keller, Paul Vallerga, Steve Ceriani, Mike Soon, Ron Weien, Ray Guadagni

Back row from left: Mike Kerns, Shev Aguilar

When we all met, not one of us could imagine this span of time, and when we look back, everything is compressed into a few moments, like the instant it took for our children to go from tiny newborns to the adults they now are.  Or the instant it took all of us to graduate from Napa High and arrive here at the present.

Those of us who knew him knew he was an extraordinary athlete.  He was a gifted basketball player who had a picture perfect jump shot.  I watched him with pride when he led the Napa Fire Department over the Napa Police Department in the affectionately named “Pig Bowl” football game.  He quarterbacked the team under the coaching of another Napa classmate and friend, Jerry Davis.

Steve was so positive in all his endeavors that he was an inspiration to all who knew him. 

Steve had the rare capacity to lead rather than to drive; to guide rather than to force. Perhaps the most dominant attribute of Steven Curtis Ceriani was his unfaltering determination.  It evidenced itself in his consideration of every problem.  It asserted itself in his entire outlook upon life and its meanings.

Steve was also courageous.  His bout with his maladies was very revealing about this man.  Steve’s response to his life-threatening disease was an example of the strength and courage that he possessed.  His response was not to give up, feel sorry for himself, or lean on others.  To the contrary, his response was to devote himself as intensely as he could to fighting his diseases and living life to the fullest within his severely restricted limitations.

He did not go from us in the manner of his choosing.  But he was still strong in mind, stout in heart, and great in spirit.

Steve was a devoted husband to his wife Jane and a dedicated father to his two sons Matt and Ryan.  His family and friends held a treasured piece of his heart to the end.

All of us who knew him are very lucky to have shared the blessing and inspiration of his life.  His memory will be cherished.