BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer
A Menlo Park man, who was killed when his motorcycle was hit head-on by a pickup truck on a winding stretch of La Honda Road, was a motorcycle and scooter enthusiast who grew up in Palo Alto.
Stephen Morse, 66, died following the collision at 6:45 p.m. Sunday on the road, also known as Highway 84, in Woodside. It happened near Grandview Drive, not far from Alice’s Restaurant on Skyline Blvd.
Morse was on his way home after visiting a friend in Santa Cruz on his orange scooter when he suddenly veered into the wrong side of the road. The coroner’s office is still looking into whether Morse suffered from a medical emergency that caused him to veer off course, said his wife, Margery.
She pointed out that his orange scooter had a white side car, a vehicle she light-heartedly called the “creamsicle.”
Morse attended Palo Alto High School and got a BA from San Jose State University. He worked as a roller coaster engineer for Frontier Village in San Jose. He then became a medical engineer. He retired form St. Jude’s Medical Inc. in Sunnyvale in 2015. There are 19 patents in his name for his medical device designs.
How he met his wife
It was while Morse was a technician at Southwall Technologies in Palo Alto that he met Margery, and asked her out. She immediately said yes, saying that she “thought he was the most handsomest man.”
They were married for 28 years and lived in Palo Alto until 2001, when they moved to Menlo Park.
Since retiring, Morse has spent a lot of time traveling with the South Bay Scooter Posse, which may be organizing a memorial ride for Morse, Margery said.
“This is a post that comes with such tremendous sadness and heartache, it’s hard to find words. Over the weekend, we lost of of our brothers, Steve Morse, in a scooter accident. … he passed doing one of the things he loved the most, riding. He always brought with him a smile, enthusiasm, generosity and experience. He will be missed and always remembered as the great friend that he was to us, and many others. The Posse lowers its flag and will have a hard time knowing how to raise it again,” the Posse wrote on Facebook.
His other activities
Aside from scootering, Morse also played badminton locally and used to be a board member of the Sequoia Yacht Club and Bair Island Aquatic Center, according to Margery. He was also a board member of the California Pops Orchestra.
Morse is survived by Margery, his wife, two brothers Doug Morse and Kenny (Sue) Morse and council Joe Zurenko.
The cause of Morse’s accident is still under investigation by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, and any witnesses of the accident are asked to call Sgt. Jason Peardon at (650) 372-3215 or [email protected].
Thank you for the lovely and article on Steve–with the pictures and info. Steve’s friends and family really appreciate the details you’ve included here.
Steve and I rode together in Cambria on our Triumphs. Steve had dinner with me , my wife Sarah and Mike Meissner of CalMoto Triumph talking about motorcycles. He came down to the shop and we chatted often. He is already missed by us here at CalMoto and we offer condolences to you and yours on his passing. God bless.
I had the privilege of knowing Steve for many years – usually by looking over his shoulder while he was working on one of the bikes. He will be greatly missed.
Margery my heart aches for you. Steve was such an interesting guy, and you guys were on a neat path together. I am so sorry, and sorry for the whole family and community. What a loss.
May your loss be lifted with your memories. God bless you.
We, the Moto family, have enjoyed riding with Steve so much, many of just so recently, that we are in disbelieve and shock that any of this happened. I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you Margery, but please know that you have an entire Moto family praying and ready for any support you may need. We will think of Steve every day and every time we ride, as we all know he enjoyed riding so much. Steve, you are missed by all.
My heart aches with this news! Steve was a very special friend to me in high school, and we just recently reconnected on FB. I was looking forward to an opportunity to get together soon to relive some of our old antics…he will be forever missed!
Steve was such an awesome guy. I really enjoyed his company on our rides and the great conversations we had when stopped out in the middle of no where. His warm and genuine demeanor will be missed!
I had the pleasure of riding with Steve very nice man he will be missed.
Those of us in the Mockers Riot Squad (a scooter group in SoCal) wish Steve’s family and those who rode with him our deepest condolences. We met up with several folks from the South Bay Scooter Posse last year in Seattle – some of the most outstanding and kind folks. It is never easy to hear that a person died doing what we all love. Be safe.
Condolences to Margery and all those loved Steve. He is already missed. RIP Steve..until we ride again.
I am so sorry to learn of your loss Margery, Doug and Kenny. While I haven’t seen Steve or his brothers for years, I have a special spot in my heart for the Morse family and will for the rest of my life. We all had a special thing going on, growing up together on Lincoln Street. Warm regards from Meg Judy