Stephen Paul Reynolds

Stephen Paul Reynolds, born March 5, 1951, passed away peacefully from complications of diabetes the day after celebrating his 75th birthday. Steve was many things: talented creative, soccer fanatic, member of Mountain Rise United Church of Christ, Type 1 diabetic, table tennis maven, hopeless romantic, avid cyclist, stalwart enforcer of the University of Rochester's logo standards, dog lover, softball player, and – thanks, in part, to his advocacy for LGBTQ rights – a man widely hailed as "the coolest straight guy you'll ever meet."

But above all, Steve was a parent.

For Steve, "parent" was not a title bestowed upon the birth of a child; it was something earned by choosing, over and over, to love someone different than you, simply because they needed it. Steve devoted his life to parenting as a youth group leader at Mountain Rise, as a coach on numerous sports teams, as "Mister Steve" to the kids on Da Vinci Drive, and as an uncle to his nieces and nephews in the Reynolds and Dwyer families, who inspired his life-defining choice to be a father to Emma and Conor. That choice set a precedent at the University of Rochester, where Steve fought hard to become the first person to take paternity leave. Steve's immense legacy is how those he parented have chosen to be a leader, make a difference, and treat others as they wish to be treated.

A celebration of Steve's life will be held on Saturday, March 28 at 1:00 PM at Mountain Rise UCC (2 Mountain Rise, Fairport, NY, 14450). If you wish to honor Steve, you can contribute to the American Diabetes Association, perform a random act of kindness for someone you don't know, or, if you were one of the many people parented by him, simply be the kind of person he raised you to be.