Memorial Held for Steve Morris, San Pedro Coach

Memorial services were held Saturday for Steve Morris, the longtime San Pedro High School teacher and coach who died of a heart attack last week only minutes after jogging with members of the girls soccer team.

The death Wednesday afternoon of Morris, 51, stunned his colleagues and the campus where he had taught science since 1968.

“It was a complete shock,” said Chris Nagle, chairman of the school’s science department. “He had just run two laps, sat down on the bench and just collapsed.”

Morris, a boxing champion at Stanford University, was remembered by his principal and fellow teachers as an energetic instructor who often traveled between his San Pedro home and school by bicycle. The school’s first boys soccer coach, Morris for a time chaired the school’s athletic department and was responsible for reinstituting the girls soccer team several years ago.

But his real interest was teaching.

“The guy was really dedicated. He enjoyed the coaching and spent a lot of time on that. But science was his first love,” Principal Joe Viola said.

Added Stan Franklin, another longtime science teacher: “Teaching was his first love. I remember someone asked us recently if we had to do it over again, what we would do. And he said he wouldn’t change a thing. He thought that much of teaching.”

Morris is survived by his wife, Anne; son, Josh, and daughter, Stephanie.

The school’s faculty has established a scholarship fund in Morris’ memory.