John "Steve" Stephen Moseley

John Stephen "Steve" Moseley, 85, of Encinitas, CA, died on November 22nd, 2023 from complications of a stroke he suffered a week earlier.

Steve was preceded in death 18 months ago by his beloved wife of 61 years, Stephanie Smith Moseley. He is survived by his daughter Julie (Anthony) Berris and their children Jack, Conrad and Katina of Denver; son Grant (Molly) and their children Colton, Sawyer and Sadie of San Diego. Steve is also survived by his brother Bruce Moseley of British Columbia and his brother-in-law Richard Smith and family of Texas and Long Beach. He was preceded in death by his father David Leigh Moseley in 1981; mother Jean Hagenbuch Moseley in 1998 and brother Peter David Moseley in 2007.

Born in Santa Monica on March 29th, 1938 he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1956, where he was an All-American swimmer. Steve attended the University of Michigan where he swam; Long Beach City College where he played water polo and swam and went on to graduate from the University of Southern California in 1960 where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order Fraternity and also was on the water polo team.

.

After meeting Stephanie at a fraternity event at USC they were married on January 28, 1961. Upon graduating from USC, he began teaching at Bell High School. He went on to earn his Master's Degree from USC in 1969, before moving to Scripps Ranch in San Diego in 1970. While in San Diego he first taught and coached water polo at Castle Park High School in Chula Vista before moving to Southwest Junior High in San Ysidro to teach History and English along with coaching tennis and golf - a place he truly believed he made the greatest impact on all those he worked with, taught and coached.

Steve always lived a full and active life right up until the end. Among his many highlights:

-He bicycled 900 miles around Europe in the summer of 1960 with American Youth Hostel;

-Spent a year (1967-1968) in Bristol, England teaching at Rose Green High School when he was a Fulbright Scholar;

-Traveled around the United States with Stephanie, Julie and Grant for 2 months during the summer of 1979;

-Participated in 3 summer teaching fellowships: University of Massachusetts, Lowell; University of Colorado, Boulder and University of Virginia;

-Visited all 50 states and 6 continents.

Steve was involved in Boy Scouts for much of his life: first as a scout himself with Troop 22 in Brentwood where he achieved the rank of Eagle; then as Scoutmaster for his son Grant's Troop 616 in Scripps Ranch and then participating with his grandsons. His favorite adventure was completing a 14-day backpacking trek with Jack and Conrad in Philmont, NM in 2010 as the second oldest to ever attend. He cherished his scout connections especially his pen pal in Japan with whom he corresponded continually since 1951.

Steve's passion for sports continued beyond his illustrious collegiate swimming career, participating in Masters Swimming in which he held several world records and traveled to Morocco and other exotic places to compete. He didn't only compete, he was an avid sports fan attending all of his 6 grandchildren's games; watching Padres and Aztec games; high school CIF cross country and football competitions as well as his remarkable ability to find any kind of live sporting event to attend in whatever city he happened to be in.

Ever the learner, Steve continually visited historical sites throughout the country; was in multiple book clubs and was an avid genealogist. He also loved to spend his time playing golf, going to the beach, skiing (until age 82) and hiking in the Sierras (as recently as 6 weeks before his death).

Steve was a great mentor to fellow teachers, but especially to youth as a teacher, coach, scout leader, father, with his favorite role as a grandfather.

We will miss his positive outlook on everything, zest for living and always being ready for new adventures.

Fight On Dad. Give mom a kiss and have a "fine time" at the never-ending sports competitions.

There are no services planned, however the family intends to hold a Celebration of Life in the spring. For those wishing to make contributions in Steve's memory, we suggestion donations in his name to the Boy Scouts of America.