Paul Gregor Steffen

Paul was born July 31st, 1953, to Aloysius Gregor Steffen and Grace Daphne Steffen (neé Timms) in Bedford, Bedfordshire, UK. His American father, Al, was stationed at RAF Chelveston until 1960 when the entire family moved to the US. Six years later, his parents divorced and Paul settled with his mother and younger sister, Deborah, in Santa Clara, CA.

Paul graduated from Prospect High School, Saratoga, CA, in 1971. He immediately began working as a mechanic, where Paul fixed many cars, motorcycles and rebuilt numerous VW Bugs. He often cruised around to his favorite haunts in San Jose on his motorcycle and checked out live music as much as he could. He also made the trek across the US and attended one of the greatest festivals of all-time: Woodstock.

Later in life, Paul followed his true passion which was learning and art. He graduated from Gavilon College in May 2001, with a double Associate's in Computer Science & Design and Humanities/Social Science. He then graduated in 2015 from UC Santa Cruz with a Bachelor’s in Cultural Anthropology. He spent endless hours creating breathtaking Fractals, which are patterns generated through carefully executed mathematical functions. Paul was also a voracious reader; he enjoyed a breadth of subjects such as Indigenous cultures & history, philosophy, astrophysics, nature, and human evolution. He was passionate about issues around homelessness, racial inequality, and climate change. Over the last couple years, Paul picked up the paintbrush and made dozens of paintings. He experimented with abstract expressionism and Cubism. Lastly, he was a devout Green Bay Packers fan.

Paul is survived by his sister, Deborah; his niece, Christa Rodriguez; his dearest friends, K. Roach, John Forte and Brian Lands, plus countless others whom he befriended in Santa Cruz and beyond.

The Celebration of Life will be held August 21st, 2024, from 2pm - 3pm at Housing Matters, 801 River St., in Santa Cruz, CA. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in memory of Paul to Housing Matters and Grey Bears of Santa Cruz. You can do so by clicking on the link under ‘Donations’.

“You are star stuff, and to star stuff you will return.” Carl Sagan

“Find what you love and let it kill you.” George Carlin