Steven Marc Anders
Steven Marc Anders, age 77, passed away January 15, 2026, in Rancho Mirage, California.
He was born January 20, 1948, in Los Angeles, California. Steven attended San Marcos High School and UCSB. He then obtained his law degree from Southwestern Law School. After school, he moved to Los Angeles where he began a career as a Trust Officer for Union Bank. He and his wife, Deanne, eventually relocated back to Santa Barbara to have a family and had a son, Christopher, in 1984.
Steven chose not to practice law. He became a trustee of two large charitable organizations and for a number of long-term clients. While living in Santa Barbara he was an advocate for the arts, serving on the boards of the Contemporary Arts Forum and Santa Barbara Youth Theatre for a number of years with great pride. He also served on the board of the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara which had provided scholarship assistance to him during his college years. He loved to collect art of many different artistic gemes. Steven also took great pride in decorating his home and was an avid writer.
He attended the Santa Barbara Writers Conference for many years. But his most important contribution during his years in Santa Barbara was his support of HIV/AIDS programs. He worked through Pacific Pride Foundation, and he supported a food pantry called Necessities of Life which provided groceries to people with HIV/AIDS starting in 1991. He obtained grants to cover the food pantry budget needs. He also supported Sarah House in the early years of the AIDS crisis which was an AIDS Hospice House for those dying from the disease. He supported Hospice of Santa Barbara for many years.
Steven moved to the Palm Springs area in early 2008. There he met Joey Rodriguez who became his partner for life. Joey died suddenly and without warning in 2022. Steven missed him every day thereafter.
During his years in Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, he supported the LGBT Community Center of the Desert and the Desert AIDS Project. Steven & friends there will always remember the evening call or text: “where are we having dinner tonight.
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Steven is survived by his son; Christopher Anders, his former wife, Deanne Anders, and his lifelong friends, Arthur Gaudi and Barry Bowen.
Contributions in his memory to Hospice of Santa Barbara, 2050 Alameda Padre Serra, Suite 100, Santa Barbara, California 93103, LGBT Community Center of the Desert, 1301 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California 92262, and Desert AIDS Project, 1695 N. Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, California 92262 are deeply appreciated.
