The Downtown Sailing Center is hosting a memorial gathering for friends of Steve Gross. Steve Gross was the former Pres. of DSC and the creator, innovator, and biggest supporter of DSC’s disabled sailing programs. He passed away last Thursday night, Oct. 27, 2011.
A funeral service was held at Sol Levinson’s Funeral Home, but the Downtown Sailing Center would like to host a memorial event for those who were unable to attend and those who would like to have a final say about him.
The memorial will be held at the Baltimore Museum of Industry's Decker Gallery on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011 from 4 – 6pm. Soft drinks will be available, but if you are so inclined please bring a light snack to be shared with the assembled multitude.
Former Executive Director Kirk Culbertson will lead a group conversation with those who knew and cared about Steve. This is their golden opportunity to share their thoughts, sentiments, and stories about Steve in front of others who cared for him. Our intention is to keep the mood light in the way that he would have wanted.
Steve became Board President of the DSC at a critical point in its history (2000-2003) and grew its membership, fleet, and programming tremendously. He fulfilled its mission on a larger scale than had ever been done before and set the organization up for its future successes. He was there at the beginning of DSC’s Disabled Sailing program and has guided it and supported it ever since. There is a lot more to say about Steve, how he took care of his two parents for many years and how he kept in touch with and supported the friends of his youth. He always had time for new sailors and most likely was responsible for more people learning how to sail in Baltimore than any other single person. He found himself compelled to look out for the underdog and take on causes when it was the right thing to do even if it was unpopular.
He was one of a kind – a truly unique person, with a can do attitude and a heart of gold. He would have appreciated us celebrating his life and would have hated us mourning him. May he rest in peace and happiness.
DSC has set up a dedicated fund for the donations that are arriving in Steve's memory. The Steve Gross Memorial Fund will be dedicated to funding the accessible sailing program.
The first year goal of this perpetual fund is to raise the funds necessary to add another Access Dinghy to the fleet. DSC is also creating an evolving page that will enable folks to post comments and memories as well as donate to the memorial fund online.
If possible, bring any special photos that you would like to have exhibited, but most importantly bring your memories. We will be putting together an electronic record of thoughts and stories about Steve to share with everyone. If you would like to write something down, please bring it with you on the 13th or email it to Kirk Culbertson at kculbertson@live.com.
Hope to see you all there!
