James Delgado
While neither a student of Dick’s, nor someone who had the privilege of working in the field with him on a hull, I had the pleasure of professional interaction, especially when problems of ship construction or reconstruction reared their head. While in the National Park Service in the early 1980s, and working on shipwrecks in California, I was able to correspond with Dick on nuances of how these vessels had come together and come apart - in a way, with all that he sent along, it was a bit like distance education.
That generosity of spirit and his love of sharing knowledge epitomized Dick Steffy. He was truly a gentleman and scholar, and everyone who met him, or had the pleasure of a consultation or congenial conversation not only came away better educated but absolutely delighted.
The measure of the man is found in more than the hulls he reconstructed, or in the publications. It is in the legacy he leaves in those he taught, and the love that all feel for him. I imagine he’s busy in conversation with Noah right now, immediately grasping the details on how to build a ship big enough for all the animals, two by two.
God speed and fair winds, Dick. We’ll miss you.