Steven Michael Del Grande

Steven Michael Del Grande (60) of Manteca, CA, passed away in a tragic accident on April 11, 2024, when an oncoming car suddenly made an illegal U-turn directly into the path of his Harley Davidson motorcycle as he was riding home from work. His family is profoundly saddened over this unexpected loss.




Steve was born in San Francisco CA on April 12, 1963 to parents David and Colleen. In 1970 the family moved to the South Bay Area (Cupertino then San Jose) where Steve played Little League baseball, rode dirt bikes, and got into plenty of mischief with a legion of neighborhood friends. He graduated from Blackford High School in San Jose in 1981, and went on to study at community college before beginning his long successful career in all things mechanical, machining, fabrication, precision tooling assembly and testing.




In January 1991, Steve welcomed his only son, David Michael, who grew to become Steve's best friend. Together they shared a love of motorcycles, boating, fishing, sports, and more. Steve was thrilled to share these passions with his cherished new grandsons Clayton Michael (35 months) and Chance Cameron (12 months). He was such a proud papa who loved to brag about these boys, and held great admiration for their mother, Morgan Bridgman, David's partner.




At work, Steve excelled at systems troubleshooting, building prototypes, and creating tools for industries ranging from nuclear power to national defense. He developed and contributed his expertise at NASA/Ames - Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse/Northrop Grumman, SLAC/SRI, GE, and Primus Power, before ultimately landing a dream job in 2021 at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, building and tearing down important systems for our national defense. As a Senior Mechanical Technologist within the Defense Technology Engineering Group, he supported Strategic Deterrence and Weapons Technology Programs.




He was very happy after buying his first home in Manteca, where he loved to wrench on cars and motorcycles in his vast garage. His friends say he was a brilliant mechanic and could often be found tuning Harleys by ear.




Steve enjoyed classic rock, southern rock, and blues, and loved attending concerts of artists like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Robert Cray, and Jonny Lang. He was a faithful fan of the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants, and San Jose Sharks. Throughout his life, he loved to watch games with his dad, Nonno, and son, and for a couple of decades hosted a weekly fight-night tradition with many of his good friends.




Steve was a devoted and loving son who called his mother daily with the greeting, ""Hello my beautiful mother."" He possessed a warm and genuine smile with an infectious laugh that will be greatly missed.




Steve was preceded in death by his father, David Michael Frank Del Grande, and is survived by his mother Colleen Ann Whitney, son David Del Grande, grandsons Clayton and Chance, brother Chris Del Grande, sisters Deanna Broussard and Tara Del Grande, step-mother Kathy Del Grande, and loyal dog Tessie.




His departure comes as a shock and great wound that is deeply felt by his entire family and countless friends who loved him dearly.




Services will be held May 4, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Foxworthy Baptist Church located at 1774 Foxworthy Ave, San Jose, CA 95124. The service will be followed by a Celebration of Life picnic at Almaden Lake Park in the South Point Picnic Area, located near the east entrance at 5949 Winfield Blvd, San Jose, 95118