Steve Sierra

Steve Gauna Sierra made his final transition on September 2, 2024, surrounded by family and friends at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas.

He was born in San Marcos, Texas, on August 22, 1963 to Francisco and Yolanda (Gauna) Sierra, the oldest of seven. A native Texan, he has lived here his entire life. Like his dad, Steve was blessed with an outgoing personality, sense of humor, and can-do attitude. Steve never met a stranger and truly brought life to any party. After graduating from San Marcos High School, Steve continued his education at Southwest Texas (now Texas State University).

Steve’s career spanned many companies over the decades and he was a born entrepreneur who flourished at startups and also enjoyed working on his own ideas. His “idea a minute” brain and the priority of “here and now” – combined with his ability to connect with a broad swath of people – meant he was never short of new business ideas to pursue.

He excelled in customer service and training, worked in sales, and was an early adopter of natural language AI learning. Steve connected people across his career and served as a mentor to several colleagues. You wanted him on your team and there are many who will feel his absence.

In addition to his career, Steve had personal interests that ran the gamut – he built himself a home office, tinkered on his trucks, set up bee hives with Gary, and chased the Big Boy steam train across Texas when it was restored. He started a website to cover the communities east of 35 in Travis County and Bastrop; when Barack Obama visited Manor New Tech High School his journalist credentials gave him access. He sewed elaborate costumes that impressed everyone who saw them. When he was hospitalized, he asked for charcoals and a sketch pad so he could still make art.

Steve and Gary met in 1991. They enjoyed life together for many years before making it legal in 2020 in a courthouse ceremony. Over the years they shared their home in Manor with many dogs, cats, rabbits, and a possum Steve tamed. Yolanda often spent long stretches of time with them at their home, and Steve relished the adventures he took with his mom, from Luby’s for lunch to San Francisco on her first plane ride.

A nomad who was rooted in Texas, he took epic road trips with Gary, including a trek to Pennsylvania to see Gary’s extended family. Through his work at Silvercar, he traveled around the U.S. to launch new locations and took advantage of the opportunity to fit in a side quest to an amusement park, beach, or festival. He also dreamed of building a home in Colorado, where he took several trips with his camper.

Love is the highest form of friendship and many people loved Steve. He made it a point to tell his friends that he loved and appreciated them as often as possible, even as he enjoyed sharing the least flattering photos he could capture of someone mid bite or mid laugh. He had a knack for making friends easily and making everyone feel like his best friend. He will be deeply missed.

He lived life to the fullest and it was more than one heart could handle in a lifetime. After a heart attack in April, he made great strides in his cardiac rehab, although the damage to his heart was great enough that he was transferred to San Antonio in August in hopes of getting a transplant.

Steve is survived by his husband, Gary Miscoe; his mother, Yolanda; his brothers John Paul, Rene, Daniel, and Michael; his sister Rhonda; and his dog Scout, as well as many aunts and uncles, cousins, in-laws, and nieces and nephews from all branches of his family. A host of friends who became family also mourn their loss. He was preceded in death by his father, Francisco, and sister Malinda Sierra (Medina).

Celebration of Life for Steve

Join us on Sunday, October 13th, 2024, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Casa Garcia’s – Manor, Texas (12700 Lexington St Suite 100, Manor, TX 78653) to celebrate the life of our dear friend, Steve.
At 3:30 PM, there will be a special performance of bagpipes, followed by a slide show and an opportunity for guests to share their memories of Steve during an open mic.
Please note that food and drinks will be available from the restaurant’s menu, but this is a no-host event, so everyone will need to pay individually.
If you have photos you’d like to contribute to the slideshow, please submit them here [celebration photos] or by emailing Emily at domaschk@gmail.com. Please include the names of those in the pictures and any details that might be useful for captions.
We hope you can join us in honoring and remembering Steve.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to help offset the medical expenses of his illness at GoFundMe or a donation to the American Heart Association.