Steve Rouse

Dec. 18, 1966 - Feb. 5, 2026

Steven Vay Rouse was born on December 18th, 1966, to Carol Elizabeth Jones and Jimmy Vay Rouse. The Rouses already had one child, Anna Leigh Rouse. Steve lived most of his childhood years in a western suburb of Denver, where he developed a lifelong love of the Colorado Rocky Mountains and skiing. Steve moved to Texas to go to college, where he met the love of his life, Stacy Jo Johnson. Later, they moved to Minneapolis for graduate school and then moved back to Texas for a one-year teaching appointment before settling down in Southern California. This completed his conversion to being a ColoTexaMinneFornian. After moving to California, Stacy and Steve welcomed dominic VAY Rouse and Ian Johnson Rouse into their family. These two amazing people inspired him throughout his whole remaining life. During his career, he was honored to receive the Howard A. White for Teaching Excellence, the Impact Award for Outstanding Service to Seaver College Students, and the Distinction in Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Faculty Award. Steve loved God, his family, friends, students, and colleagues, and often marveled at what a great life he had. He loved cooking, teaching, and holding meaningful discussions with those close to him. Steve passed away on Thursday, February 5th, 2026 after a brief but brave fight against pancreatic cancer. In lieu of flowers, Steve hoped that people who are inclined to make donations would direct them to Mount Tamalpais College (a program that allows people incarcerated in San Quentin to earn an accredited college degree), The Trevor Project (a crisis hotline focused on ending suicide among LGBTQ+ youth), or the Stacy Rouse Re-election Campaign (which would allow her to continue to do good work for local schools).