Dan Stevenson — California native, beloved friend, partner, and Santa Cruz Metro and loop bus driver — was honored in a vigil held by the Worker Student Solidarity Coalition at UC Santa Cruz on Jan. 29.
Dan Stevenson was born in Richmond, California in 1964. He grew up in Berkeley, amidst the turbulent ‘60s, which opened his eyes to “fairness, peace, love, and justice,” as noted in his obituary. Dan found his way to UCSC, where he graduated with a degree in psychology. He is remembered as socially intuitive and witty, with a warm sense of humor.
Dan worked for Santa Cruz Metro from 1998 to 2019 and began driving campus shuttle buses for UCSC in 2021. He was a dedicated member of his union, SMART Local 0023, and advocated publicly for transit drivers and riders. Following a devastating loop bus crash on Dec. 12, Dan was in a coma for 16 days before being taken off life support.
Almost a month later, students, community members, and friends of Dan gathered in front of the UCSC entrance sign to remember him.
The day was sunny, the grass slightly damp. People brought handfuls of flowers like lilies, daisies, and baby’s breath, handpicked by some on the way to the vigil. They placed the bouquets delicately on an altar, beside candles and burning incense.
In the center of the altar was a photo of Dan Stevenson, smiling. One student recalled Dan’s warmth, remembering how Dan would be the one driver to ever stop when they would run after the bus. When they got on the bus, Dan always had a joke ready.
Dan loved Bob Dylan. We learned that from his friend Brian, who sang Dylan’s 1963 Studio Outtake, “Lay Down Your Weary Tune” at the vigil.
“Lay down your weary tune, lay down / Lay down the song you strum / And rest yourself ‘neath the strength of strings / No voice can hope to hum.”
Dan is remembered with love. That became all the more apparent when Sheilah, his partner of 14 years, stood in front of the crowd and spoke. She recalled Dan as the kindest person she ever lived with. They loved making nutritious foods together and she remembers how healthy he was. He believed in good karma, and in serving the people around him. Sheilah wants to celebrate who he was as a person, and wherever he may be now.
As the crowd began to clear, the altar, with Dan’s photo, was kept up a little while longer. The breeze gently moved the handpicked flowers and flickered the candle flames. The words that Brian sang from “Danny Boy” lingered, too.
“You’ll come and find the place where I am lying / And kneel and say an Ave there for me / And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me / And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be / For you will bend and tell me that you love me / And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.”