Stephen W. Sagady

July 1950 - February 2020

SAN DIEGO — Stephen Sagady, 69, died on February 21, 2020, of a heart attack. He leaves his husband and partner of more than 14 years, Jared (Jay) Pitard of San Diego, his two children, Victoria and Crystal Sagady, his daughter-in-law Christina, his cousins Pierre and Vicki Mathieu, as well as his ex-wife and best friend Mayri Sagady-leslie. He also leaves behind his eight birds, for which he shared parenting duties with his husband.

Born in Michigan, the son of William and Louise Sagady, Steve (as he was known by friends and family) was always passionate about science and engineering, even as a young child. He graduated Cum Laude from Cal Poly in 1973 with a degree in Electronic Engineering as well as an Associate degree in Science from Santa Barbara City College. After college, he worked as a lighting technician and audio engineer at several theaters in

Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. The theater brought Steve together with Mayri, whom he would marry and raise his children with, as well as form their own theater company Process Theatre. Not long after, Steve’s hobby of amateur radio Djing would lead him to a job in Ojai, California, at Two:dot Recording where he would realize his true passion of audio and video engineering. From there he went on to work around the country building and designing television studios and post production facilities. At the time of his death,

Steve was Co-owner and Chief Technology Officer of Pacific Design and Integration (PDI), and GOVTV.

Steve was an avid astronomer having belonged to the Santa Barbara Astronomy Club along with his oldest daughter Victoria. Both his children fondly remember many nights looking up at the stars with him and learning about constellations and the universe around them. Steve continued this love the rest of his life, shooting celestial events and the night skies to produce beautiful time-lapse footage which he shared with the world through his company Crystal Visions, Inc. His time-lapse earned him a Daytime Emmy Award for special effects as well as a Cable Ace Award.

Steve had a great love for Science Fiction, something which he shared with his husband. Together they spent many nights watching Doctor Who, Star Trek, Grimm, and other Sci-fi shows and movies. He was also a yearly San Diego Comiccon attendee with his daughter Crystal for the past 19 years, and loved exploring the exhibition hall, seeing the cosplay and costumes, and talking to the artists about the comics and artwork he found there.

Anyone who knew Steve would also know of his dedication and support for the Mankind Project. He participated in and supported many parts of MKP for the last 20 years of his life, both locally and internationally, making many dear friends and having a positive influence on all of the lives he touched through this organization. He leaves many brother warriors behind.

There will be no funeral or services at this time. Instead the family will be hosting a Celebration of Life at a later date.