We are sad to report that Steve Glaeser, a longtime member of our Berkeley Path Wanderers Association community, passed away in January at the age of 62. Glaeser started out as a path-building volunteer around 2005 and soon proved to be an extremely capable team leader, working on more than 20 paths. In 2007 he was elected to the BPWA board and served two terms.

Around 2015, Steve led the effort to transition the path-building team from using casual volunteers on weekend work parties to more highly skilled volunteers on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Steve chose the building sites, created a volunteer mailing list, ordered materials as needed, brought the necessary tools, and acted as job foreman, among many other duties.

Over time, path projects became steeper, with more challenging issues to resolve. Steve worked closely with Charlie Bowen, BPWA’s path-building lead, on the design of each path, and together they collaborated with City of Berkeley Public Works engineers to determine the projects’ logistics.

“Steve's passing has been a huge blow, but his legacy has proved durable and that crew of volunteers is still building paths today,” said Bowen. “All of us on the path-building team are tremendously grateful for Steve's many years of leadership in our work.”

BPWA past president Colleen Neff agreed. “Steve’s contribution to the paths of Berkeley was huge,” she said. “He worked incredibly hard and expertly trained others—including Scouts working on their Eagle and Gold Scout awards, Cal student volunteers, visiting international students, and community volunteers. He was always thinking about making the paths better and safer for everyone.”

To make a donation in honor of Steve Glaeser’s contributions to Berkeley’s paths, please go to berkeleypaths.org/donate.