Steve M. Rivas

It is with great sadness that the family of Professor Steve M. Rivas shares his passing. Steve was born on July 4, 1941 to Esteban and Stella Rivas in San Antonio, Texas. He moved to Los Angeles, Calif. in 1957 to pursue his goal of becoming a teacher. He met Margaret Gaglio in 1959 and they married two years later. He was a devoted husband and loving father to his five children. Steve's great love for his family was apparent to all who knew him. Steve received a B.A. and M.A. from CSU, Los Angeles and a Ph.D in Hispanic Literature from the University of Southern California. Although he began his teaching career in the Beverly Hills School District in 1963, his ultimate goal was to teach at the university level. Steve taught at CSU, Los Angeles preparing the original group of Peace Corps volunteers by teaching intensive Spanish language classes. He taught at CSU, Northridge prior to accepting a teaching position at CSU, Chico. Steve was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship to study at Stanford and a Fullbright fellowship to study in Spain. Steve traveled extensively and loved to share his cultural experiences with his students. Steve and his family moved to Chico in 1968, where he was a Professor of Spanish language and literatures for the Modern Language Dept. at CSU, Chico for 41 years and was also Chair of his department for 8 years. He worked to create the International Festival at Chico State, which became an annual event, as well as the 3rd Street Language Houses, which provided students with a language immersion experience. Several of his favorite activities were organizing language and cultural study trips to Mexico, and he also taught Spanish-language immersion classes at Eagle Lake for many summers. Steve also enjoyed teaching a variety of Spanish classes for Butte College. He loved teaching! A few of the classes he taught were Spanish Conversation, Medical Spanish, Spanish for Peace Officers, etc. Teaching community members was a very special experience for him. He met and taught so many wonderful people and was rewarded by their lasting friendships. Professor Rivas thoroughly enjoyed teaching and touched the lives of thousands of students over his more than four-decade long career. Many of his students went on to become language teachers themselves. He also enjoyed traveling, planting trees and flowers, fishing, and most of all, spending time with his family. He died in his home with family Monday morning after a three and a half year struggle with cancer. He was 63 years old. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; his sister, Florinda (Nina) Rivas of Chico and his five children: Anita G. Rivas, JDS of Los Angeles, Steven G. Rivas, DDS of Saint Helena, Monica G. Rivas, Ph.D of Santa Clara, Rick G. Rivas, MA of Los Gatos, and Raquel G. Rivas, of Los Angeles. He is also survived by his two grandchildren, Christian and Sofia. Consumed with hope, contagiously optimistic, and above all else generous with love, Steve Rivas will be remembered fondly by his family, friends, and the thousands of people he taught. Donations can be made to the International Myeloma Foundation. A memorial mass will be held for Steve on Friday, August 20th at 10 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Chico.