Stephen Rafter; Moorpark College Student Leader

Moorpark College student Stephen Conrad Rafter was killed Dec. 29 in an automobile accident in Northridge. He was 17.

He was born May 2, 1983, in Loma Linda, Calif., and attended Emanu El Elementary School, then Golden Valley Junior High School in San Bernardino. He played softball, took surfing classes and participated in diving competitions during those years.

Three years ago, he moved with his family to Westlake Village, where he attended Conejo Valley High School. He was in a self-paced program and completed high school in four months. He graduated in 1999 and received Optimist Club, Westlake Rotary Club and Ronald Reagan Library Foundation scholarship awards.

He was a sophomore and about to begin his fourth semester at Moorpark College, where he studied creative writing. A member of the Moorpark College Associated Student Body Board of Directors, he was elected director of constitution and bylaws in April. He was also the student body Web master.

Rafter had planned on transferring to UCLA’s writing program.

He was a poet who enjoyed the works of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs; a writer and a musician who wrote lyrics and played drums. As a toddler, he made up songs and sang them to his family after dinner or in the car.

Family members and friends described him as a surfer, environmentalist, vegetarian and talented writer.

He is survived by his mother, Eva Conrad, Moorpark College executive vice president, and father, Mark Rafter, a psychology teacher at College of the Canyons, both of Westlake Village, and his sister, Lettie Conrad of Northridge.

A memorial service is scheduled at 2 p.m. Saturday at Pierce Bros. Valley Oaks Chapel in Westlake Village.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be directed to the Moorpark College Foundation Scholarship Fund, in memory of Stephen Rafter, 7075 Campus Road, Moorpark, CA 93021.