Steven L. Garrett

I met Steve in 1968. I played guitar and Steve played drums. We were each looking to join or form a band. Neither of us remember how we initially made contact. But I’m so grateful that we did. Because it was the beginning of a truly great, lifelong friendship with someone whose intelligence and wit made every minute with him so special. Steve was an undergrad in physics at UCLA. I was across town at USC and an undergrad in engineering. At UCLA, Steve had met DeeDee, an aspiring female vocalist. We found some other musicians and formed a band. Other members of the band came and went. But the three of us remained together in that band for many years. (DeeDee has also posted on this memorial site.) (**See photo of our band about 1968-69. Steve is on drums on the right edge of the photo.) In addition to all the time Steve and I spent together associated with the band, I’d often wander over to have dinner or go to a concert with him. We were a couple of 20ish goofballs having a great time and enjoying the carefree freedom of youth. We went fishing, backpacking and also engaged in a lot of mischief that is best left undocumented. Steve met Gloria and they married. For several years we lived just a few blocks apart, half a block from the beach in Venice. I’d very often ride my bike down to their place for a visit. I’m sure it was just a coincidence that it would often be around dinner time. Ha ha! Despite all the goofball adventures we somehow stayed out of jail and both graduated, Steve with his UCLA PhD in physics and me with an M.S. in engineering. I was just technical enough that Steve could dumb down a lot of acoustics theory and practice to a level that I could understand. He was, of course, an incredibly gifted teacher!!!!! During our college days Steve gravitated to acoustics. Correspondingly he was distraught that friends of ours had a decent stereo system connected to terrible speakers. That had to be remedied. So, with Steve explaining all the associated calculations for resonance, port size, extension, etc, we built them a pair of really fine speakers. (**See photo of Steve and I building the speakers. I'd guess 1971-72?) After getting his PhD, Steve and Gloria moved to Berkeley and then on to Monterey where Steve spent many years at the Naval Postgraduate School. Although we still lived in Los Angeles, my wife and I visited them countless times and got to enjoy seeing them adopt their two kids, Wendy and Adam. (**See photo of me holding baby Wendy in 1986.) Life moved on and Steve accepted a position at Penn State where he spent the rest of his career. However, we still managed to stay in close contact by phone and got together on his many trips to LA. He often came here to visit relatives, friends, or to attend and/or present at various Physics/Acoustics seminars. I don’t have the words to express what a dear friend Steve has been for so many decades. If anything, the distance from Los Angeles to Penn State (and then Salinas) almost seemed to strengthen our bond. Perhaps because every phone call or get together was so special. I miss him greatly and have shed oh so many tears over his passing. His cell phone has still been active and I’ve called him several times. It feels great just to hear his voice in the greeting. It’s almost as if he’s still here. In fact, I’ve been leaving him messages. Although he hasn’t called me back, I’m hoping he’s listening to my messages so he knows I’m still thinking of him and miss him.