Piper, Stephen Leigh

Stephen was such a sweetie. We dated for a while. I remember how he made me laugh and his beautiful eyes, his tales of growing up and learning about the hierarchy of cars that one could drive to school. I miss him, and everyone.

Stephen was part of my first San Francisco family. He lived with the love of my life, Richard Piper. Though they shared the same last name, they were not born from the same family. Still, they were more like brothers than could be imagined. Stephen embraced life and helped me find my path. He loved his friends deeply, especially Valerie. I remember eating brunch with Valerie, her partner, Steve and Richarc...Valerie started talking about GRID and how we all needed to be careful; we did not know it was too late. I left San Francisco before Steve passed, but remember going to Ward 5A at General to see him. Steve was tall, with very long legs. I accidently touched his feet and thought I had hurt him, but he asked me to massage them, it felt good. Steve, I wasn't always fair to you, I was a bit jealous. But you were so generous with me, with your spirit, I will always be grateful.

More than thirty years have passed since Stephen's death. But I was unaware of this thoughtful obituary until recently. As the other posts said, Stephen had some excellent qualities. He was a reliable friend in high school. He seemed to have a much better grasp of the world than most teenagers, and so he provided needed guidance, whether either one of us knew it or not. He always had a calm head, and he taught people how to solve their own problems. We didn't come out to each other because we weren't there yet. But I think we knew anyway. Stephen, you made a difference.