Obituary of Steven Allen Shiver

Steve made us promise not to say he "battled cancer" but instead he rode the waves of a nasty disease until he wiped out. Steven Allen "The Shive" Shiver was a biker, not a surfer, but he had a mean sidestroke and managed to tread water until he passed on Saturday, August 18. Born October 22, 1953, in Tacoma, WA, Steve was the only child of Vivian Alji and Frances Marie Dinkel Shiver. He grew up in Pinole, CA, sped through Pinole Valley High and Contra Costa Community College to enlist in the Air Force. Sgt. Shiver served from 1974-1978 as an airplane maintenance specialist at Travis Air Force Base. It was at Travis that he met his brother from another mother, Ernie Hooker, and that mad pair spent weekends in Santa Cruz with Steve's cousin, Debi Kinney. She engineered a blind date with Steve and her best friend Mardi Browning back in 1977. He helped Mardi deliver newspapers every Sunday morning for a few years, and she would become his wife 35 years later. After his discharge in 1978, Steve settled for a few years in Santa Cruz where he slung hides and was permanently banned from using the forklift at Salz Tannery, while taking classes at Cabrillo College and throwing those newspapers with his girl. In 1983 he headed back to Homosassa, Florida where he worked the shrimp boats and discovered his roots, connecting with family old and new, including John and Anita Shiver Creel, Ada McPherson, Sonia Byrd Garden, Audra Bookins, Mama Carris Shiver, Bart Byrd, Robert and Sonia Byrd Garden, Lisa Byrd, and countless others. It was in Florida that Steve tapped into his passion for Indian motorcycles and he was proud to be an inaugural member of the Iron Indian Riders Association. Though it's been a few years since he rode with his pack, "Big Shive" remains a legend in the club. He also found a woman to settle down with, and has remained especially close with the families of his girls, Raina and Jayson Dameron of Warwick, NY and Jennifer and Al Dajero of Chesapeake VA. His girls blessed him with "sugar grandbabies" Sophia and Madelin Dameron, Taylor and Catherine Carroll, and Naomi Dajero. Steve finished his education at the College of Central Florida and went to work as a health physics technician for Florida Power & Light in 1985, responsible for radiation safety and training. If not for a bum heart he would have retired from that position two months from now, but instead he was medically benched after 25 years on the job. In 1992 Hurricane Andrew devastated Homestead, Florida, where he lived with his family. He worked tirelessly at the power plant in Andrew's aftermath and ironically, his family's home was one of the last to get power restored. Life's highway is dotted with potholes and speed bumps, and in 2012 Steve headed west on his 2000 Indian Chief "Powwow" to reunite with his California cousins Debi and Les Kinney of Kelseyville, and sought out his childhood sweetheart Mardi. They married in April 2013 on the banks of Clearlake, where he welcomed her sons Mitch and Tom Douglass to the tribe that calls him "Poppie" and became brother to Jane and Larry Russell of Soquel, Rebecca and Jay Rose of Fremont, Kath Browning of Farmington, NM, and Bill and Carmen Browning of Las Vegas, NV. At home in the redwoods of Paradise Park he found tranquility and a rich history that fascinated him. After he dug out two decades of his wife's junk, in the space that had been a wheelhouse used to manufacture smokeless gunpowder during the Civil War, he set up his "Man Cave" and "Busted Knuckle Garage" from which only longtime friend and housemate Tony Saenz was authorized to take a tool. In 2015 he met the REAL love of his life online, a 1951 Ford panel truck frame-off restoration. To his wife's alarm he purchased it online and had it delivered sight unseen from Colorado to his open garage. He called her Brown Sugar, his wife called her the Money Pit, and they were often seen cruising along West Cliff or parked in front of the Santa Cruz Diner while sharing a Surf's Up omelet inside. Steve will be dearly missed by a legion of friends and family who he has delighted and aggravated through the years with his wacky sense of humor, his elastic face, and his heart of gold. A Celebration of his Life will be held at 2:00 pm Saturday, September 8 at Paradise Park Masonic Club, 211 Paradise Park, Santa Cruz CA. His ashes will be scattered off Lighthouse Point Sunday September 9 at 4:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, Steve would prefer to have wrapped cookie and cracker snacks sent to his friends at Santa Cruz Medical's Oncology Infusion Services Center, 2850 Commercial Crossing, Santa Cruz 95065.