Steven passed away quietly at home, after a longtime battle with chronic illness. He was born in Los Angeles to Robert and Geraldine Sizemore, and spent most of his childhood in Novato, California. He was devoted to his horse Tonka, working an endless variety of odd jobs to pay for board and care. He especially enjoyed long rides in the surrounding hills from which he could see the Golden Gate Bridge.
After attending San Marin High School where he excelled in his journalism class, Steve enlisted in the United States Marines, serving for six years as an Anti-Tank Assaultman, and four years in Public Affairs as a journalist. His articles and photographs were published in Stars and Stripes, the daily American military newspaper. This experience gave Steven the Marine identity that permeated his entire life, reflected in his long association with the USMC Combat Correspondents Association. He often shrugged and quoted the famous WWI maxim, “Once a Marine, always a Marine.”
After his discharge, he settled in Castro Valley and worked for the Castro Valley Forum as a newspaper reporter. During this time, he discovered a shared love of motorcycles with Matt Earp, who became his lifelong best friend. The two men often rode out to a houseboat on the delta by Tracy where they fished and barbequed. After one long absence they returned to find their floating palace was filled with dust and spiders. They fired up the Weber anyway, basting chicken with a rich barbecue sauce, drinking margueritas, then dining under the weak 12-volt houseboat lighting. The “hairy” drumsticks turned out to be the result of daddy long leg spiders that had fallen into the high flames and stuck to that thick sauce. Thus “Spider Chicken” was born.
Steven moved to Sacramento to attend law school, although towards the end of his program realized that courtroom confrontations were not for him. He eventually moved to Utah where he resided in several areas near Salt Lake City. His talent as a photographer became the basis for his business, Digital Life Images. With his love for adventure, he enjoyed camping in the Utah desert, immersing himself in the multi-colored landforms of his adopted state and capturing beautiful landscape portraits.
Later in his life, Steven experienced a spiritual renewal, faithfully attending mass at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Parish Church in Holladay with his beloved service dog, Scout, and serving as a lay Eucharistic minister to local nursing home residents. His friends remember a man with a loyal and generous spirit, known for staying in touch with lengthy text messages that were vibrantly intelligent and opinionated.
Steven is survived by brother Mark Sizemore, sister Susan LaPorte, former wife Alexandra Parker, son Robert Harrison Parker, and daughter Kira Jo Mecham. He also leaves behind his Uncle Dale and Aunt Charlene Spencer who will miss his long telephone conversations every Saturday.
A graveside service with military honors at Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park, 17111 1700 West, Bluffdale, Utah 84065, will be held Monday, April 22, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the USO (uso.org/donate) to further their cause of assisting active-duty military members and families, wounded warriors, and families of the fallen.
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