Steve was born or March 18, 1949 in Lynwood, CA to Fano Steve Lagna and Ina Eunice Lagna (nee Jones), their firstborn son. Steve was pre-deceased by his father, mother, younger brother, James “Jimmy” Lagna, grandparents and several aunts and uncles, and best friend and honorary sister, Theresa A. Albers. Steve passed away on December 30, 2024 in San Jose, CA. Steve is survived by his wife and best gift, Donna Barkley, his brother in-law Keith Barkley, sister-in-law Etta Barkley, nephews Danny and Adam Barkley, grandniece Haley Perry, grandnephew Devan Barkley and wife Ashley, and his Aunt Bert. He is also survived by numerous cousins and friends. In honor of Steve’s memory, donations can be made to either the American Heart Association (heart.org) or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org) Celebration of Life will be scheduled at a later date.

Steve attended Middleton Street Elementary School, Henry T. Gage Junior High School, and graduated from Huntington Park High School in February 1967. He ranked seventh out of 100 students in his Winter 1967 graduating class. Steve earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from California State University at Long Beach (CSULB) in June 1971. After graduating from CSULB, Steve lived in Southern California for another 8 years, living in Hawthorne, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and finally Rancho Palos Verdes where he bought his first home at age 25. Steve moved to the Bay Area in later 1978 and lived in Morgan Hill and San Jose, CA.

As a 19 year old engineering student and Junior at CSULB, he began working as a student trainee under the USAF Cooperative Work-Study Program at Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO) in El Segundo, CA. Just a few months prior to America’s first Moon landing, Steve was the only engineering student selected to participate from CSULB in March 1969. Though it was very difficult working part-time carrying a full class load, Steve remembered this early opportunity as a most relevant and enriching experience that was the key to shaping his long and successful career in the aerospace/defense industry.

Steve’s biggest accomplishment was his first accomplishment – Being part of the team that invented, developed and deployed the first GPS System. It was a rare privilege to be part of something that is so important to the nation and the world, being there from inception to fruition as part of an endeavor and purpose that is bigger than yourself. Steve was a founding (and the youngest) member of the original GPS Program Office Cadre (1973-4) that became the first USAF GPS System Program Office (SPO) where he worked through 1978 and the launch of the first GPS satellite. Steve left the Government civil service in late 1978 to join Stanford Telecommunications. After nearly 22 years, he joined Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC) in early 2001. Since 1979, Steve contributed to the design, development, integration, test and deployment of several military secure/protected satellite communications systems including AFSATCOM, Milstar, Advanced EHF and Mobile Objective User System. Looking back over his long career, Steve always wanted to learn and experience new things. At the end of his career at LMSSC, Steve continued to diversify his expertise and knowledge by working on commercial earth observation satellite systems and international business development pursuits beginning in 2014. After retiring from Lockheed Martin in April of 2017, he enjoyed consulting another two years. Steve was proud to have worked in the aerospace/defense industry for 50 years.

Steve was also proud to be honored by his alma mater as a Long Beach State University “Featured Alumni” for his work on the original GPS. And he was honored in February of 2019, along with others, by the United States Air Force for his commitment and numerous contributions that made positive impacts to the Nation’s Defense.

Beyond his career, Steve had many diverse interests including attending music and arts events, woodworking, anything railroad related, and taking classes in music, astronomy and foreign languages to name a few. Steve took classes in conversational Italian, the native language of his grandparents, where he developed an interest in the classical opera repertory which turned out to be a life changer. In 1992 at an Opera San Jose fundraiser event, hosted by the Italian American Heritage Foundation, Steve met his future wife and the love of his life, Donna Barkley of Elm City, NC. Steve always believed that the spirits of his Italian ancestors led him to that place and that event to meet Donna. Steve and Donna realized they had a lot in common. Steve and Donna were married in June 1994 by Theresa at the La Playa Hotel in their beloved Carmel-by-the-Sea, one of their favorite places.

Steve and Donna were happily married and devoted to one another for over 30 years. They enjoyed many fun times together, attending opera, lectures at Celebrity Forum and the Institute of Western Civilization, museums, plays, book talks, San Jose Symphony, Filoli Gardens, and Monterey Bay Aquarium (loved Cooking for Solutions). Steve’s favorite thing to do was attending the Carmel Bach Festival. They especially enjoyed the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco where they attended many special events and lectures. They also enjoyed travel together including Christmastime trips with Road Scholar. Exploring Canada on their honeymoon and their fifth wedding anniversary was always a favorite memory. Steve and Donna shared many of the same interests including music, the arts, travel, and photography and pursued these hobbies as a couple. Donna was instrumental in re-introducing Steve to the Christian faith and adding a spiritual dimension to their lives as a couple. Steve and Donna joined the United Methodist Church (UMC) in October 1999, enjoying membership in both the Campbell UMC and the Los Altos UMC. He was proud to have served on the Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC), being a lay reader, door greeter and other volunteer functions at Los Altos United Methodist Church. He also volunteered as Vice Chair of Bay Area Engineering Alumni Association of California State University at Long Beach.

Some of his fondest memories was meeting his soulmate, Donna, on March 27, 1992, marrying his wife on June 27, 1994, their life together and everything about it, studying music (he played the clarinet and saxophone), being a member of the Huntington Park Youth Band, participating in band events/trips with his Mom, Dad and Brother Jimmy, and working with, and learning from his Dad in the machine shop.

Steve was an exceptional and brilliant person, leaving a special legacy of love and kindness. One of Steve’s favorite quotes was from Walt Disney – “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” 

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