Steven Michael Salk

Pinyon Pines - Steven Michael Salk left his mark on this world. Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1947, Steve was the eldest child of veterinarians Herman and Sylvia Salk. The young family moved to Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh, where Steve and his brother David, along with their cousins, participated in Uncle Jonas Salk's trials for the polio vaccine.

In 1954, the family moved to Palm Springs, California, where Steve completed his primary education. Steve graduated from Palm Springs High School, and then went on to UC Berkeley, where he was a disk jockey for the campus radio station. Steve completed his doctorate in veterinary medicine at UC Davis and returned to Palm Springs for a short time to work with his father. Steve always loved the Bay Area and returned to open one of the Bay Area's first Veterinary Emergency Clinics. He also spent six months in Italy working on treatments for various livestock diseases.

Steve's deep generosity and drive to help brought him to Arusha, Tanzania in the early 1970s, where he worked with USAID (US Aid to International Development) on the Masai Range Project. Steve fell deeply in love with the people and the place and became fluent in Swahili.

Always looking for new perspectives, Steve then enrolled in San Diego State University where he earned a master's in public health. From 1986 to 1992, Steve worked in Nicaragua with several non-governmental organizations in the areas of farming, livestock, and public health. He bought a small dairy farm in the city of Grenada, outside of Managua, and lived the simple life he had grown to love in Africa. Also fluent in Spanish, Steve taught at the veterinary school at The University of Central America and for the National Institute for Genetic Improvement.

An extraordinary veterinarian, Steve next devoted his time and energy to the people and pets in the Coachella Valley and beyond. He loved his ranch in Pinyon Pines, where he had horses, grew apples, and embraced the life that he loved and had learned from the places he lived.

Above all, Steve believed in "Ubuntu" (Swahili for "humanity to others"). Most recently, Steve returned to Tanzania to work and live, making frequent trips back to the US for medical treatment and to spend time with his beloved grandson, Jack. In Tanzania, Steve worked with Inherit Your Rights, a human rights organization dedicated to informing and empowering local women. He felt great "Ujamaa" (Swahili for "togetherness") with the people in Arusha and they were part of his family.

Steve was a bright light, a loving father, grandfather, brother, son, neighbor and human being. Steve played a mean guitar, had a brilliant mind and a biting sense of humor. He also had the most distinctive and wonderful laugh you'll ever hear. The world is a better place because he was in it.

He will be greatly missed by his daughter, Lindsay, his grandson Jack, son-in law, Brian, brother David, Sisters Lisa and Susan, his dear angel and partner, Joanie McGee and so many others, all over the world, who loved him.

Those wishing to honor Steve's memory are kindly asked to consider contributions to the following:

Steve Salk Memorial Ujamaa Fund: gofundme.com/ujamaafund

Inherit Your Rights: inherityourrights.org