Steven "Steve" Pierce, a Marine veteran, gifted musician, lifelong joker, and three-time cancer survivor passed away on June 8, 2025. He was 59 years old.

Steve was born in Ukiah, California, on March 11, 1966, and grew up alongside his older brother, John. He had big blue eyes, a mischievous grin, and a tendency to stir up trouble - like the time his own family had to chase him through an airport (much to some security guards' chagrin) or when he put a pet rat on his dad’s face while he was napping. (His dad was not amused. Steve was.)

After high school, Steve joined the United States Marine Corps, where he honed his Spanish at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey Bay and served in military intelligence near Cuba. His military career was filled with discipline, sharp thinking, and a strong dislike of sitting still. He left the Marines in 1990 with an honorable discharge after six years of service (including some time stationed at Camp Lejuene), narrowly missing Desert Storm.

Back in California, Steve earned his Bachelor of Music degree and teaching credential from Sacramento State University in 1997 - the same year as his first battle with cancer and the birth of his second child, Tori. That was just the beginning of a lifetime spent refusing to back down from anything.

Steve’s life was rich in sound. He played French horn, piano, and sang in church bands, community choirs, and karaoke bars where he could be found belting out 80s tunes (among many others). His children remember growing up watching his music performances, hearing him play Debussy's “Golliwogg’s Cakewalk” on the piano (often accompanied by their own childhood dance routines), and bonding over superhero comics and movies, music, and shared day trips to places like San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and amusement parks.

Steve constantly gave back to his community, working for many years with adults with special needs, later pursuing a master’s degree in music therapy with the goal of helping stroke survivors through music - a deeply meaningful pursuit that now holds a bittersweet irony, as it was ultimately a stroke that took him. His students, family, and friends remember him as someone who brought humor, patience, and the occasional witty quip to light up every room he walked into.

Steve was a man of humor and resilience. He was a true Renaissance man - also known for his incredible cooking (with the occasional burnt meal), his artistic talent of stained glasswork, and his quiet but deep faith. He was a proud cat dad to his beloved Lola, who was often treated to his culinary experiments. He survived three separate cancer diagnoses, beat the odds more times than seemed statistically reasonable, and still found time to crack jokes, play music, and root for his kids.

Steve was a complicated person who lived life on his own terms, but his passion for music, his stubborn strength, and his dry humor left an undeniable imprint on those who knew him. He will be missed by his Sacramento family of friends, his former students, his karaoke crew, and by his children who saw him, in his best moments, as a man who truly loved to create, perform, and teach.

He is survived by his three children: Sydney Jae Pierce, Tori Leigh Cadwallader (Pierce), and Casey (C.J.) Pierce.

A memorial service will be held at Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Citrus Heights, California on this Saturday, June 14th at 2pm. 

If you are unable to attend his service in-person, you may join from afar or listen to the recording at https://www.youtube.com/live/…

Please visit his Facebook memorial page at https://www.facebook.com/stev… to share your memories. 

In his memory, please consider supporting music education, music therapy, or simply sing a karaoke song in his honor.

Send to someone

Share this obituary with others

https://everloved.com/life-of/steven-pierce/obituary/

Copy