Steven Vaughn Lutes Of Pacifica, CA, often referred to himself, jokingly, as a "Misanthropologist." But most folks Coastside knew him as "Doc Steve" - guitarist, vocalist, and music lover.

Steve was born December 7, 1945 in Long Beach, CA, but his family soon moved to Escondido, where he grew up and attended local schools. Steve's love of music ranged from classical to rock & roll. But his favorite style was acoustic old-timey music. By the time he was a teenager he was playing banjo and singing and playing the blues on acoustic guitar. He worked his way through San Diego State University playing guitar and working as doorman at the legendary Heritage Folk Theatre in Mission Beach. After receiving his master's degree in 1972, he and his wife Kathy moved to Lawrence, KS, where he earned a PhD with honors in Anthropology at the University of Kansas.

While doing fieldwork for his dissertation in Potam, Rio Yaqui, Mexico, he was summoned to become a Pascola dancer, an honor he valued as highly as his academic degrees. Following completion of his PhD at KU, Steve did further post-doctoral research in Guam and Mindanao, and then worked as a consultant to the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, also teaching at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. However, after returning to California in 1983, he decided to devote his life to public service, and thus began his career with the City of San Francisco, from whence he retired in 2006.

Shortly before retirement Steve began playing music again, searching out his musician friends from the Heritage days while simultaneously meeting and playing with Bay Area acoustic musicians. He was a proud member of the San Francisco Folk Music Club, and it gave him great joy to share his guitar-picking skills and love of music under the guise of "Doc Steve, Misanthropologist." He was happily looking forward to working with a Music in Schools program in the coming school year.

Tragically, Steve succumbed to a heart attack on May 31, 2008. He is survived by his wife, Kathy (nee McElhiney); brother, James Lutes; daughter, Marie McCreary; and granddaughter, Jessica.

There will be a memorial musician's jam in his honor on Friday, June 27 and a family memorial on June 28. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in memory of Steve Lutes to the Rob Schneider Music Foundation, PO Box 1129, Pacifica, CA 94044 www.robschneidermusicfoundation.org 

Source: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?n=steven-vaughn-lutes&pid=112004463