Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light has a seating capacity of about 1,400. It was packed Wednesday afternoon, mourners standing along the walls and milling in the plaza outside, all of them having come to pay their respects to Stephen Phelps, president of Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School, who died at 73 the day after Christmas following complications from heart bypass surgery.
Speakers at his funeral Mass extolled him as a man who led an exemplary life and endeavored to help others do likewise.
Phelps’ daughter, Amy, recalled when her dad began driving school buses to pay for her ice skating lessons, of playing “wedding” and having him sit patiently as she put “1 million” berets in his hair, and of his pushing her through basketball drills.
“Having Steve Phelps as your dad was a master class in determination and laser beam focus,” she said. “I could talk all day about how great my dad was. But you all know that. That’s why you’re here.”
Phelps began his career as an educator in 1965 in San Francisco’s Hunter’s Point area. From 1972-2004, he taught, coached and was director of professional development at St. Ignatius College Prep. By then, he had developed a broad view of what a student could and should be.
Father James Matthews noted for the mourners something that Jerome Williams, a 1975 St. Ignatius graduate, said about Phelps.
“Steve Phelps worked to augment the life of the entire person,” Williams said, according to Matthews. “If they needed food, he would make sure they were fed. If a child needed academic assistance, he would tutor. If emotional support was required, he offered his heart. If we ever wonder how to live a life that is for the greater glory of God and the salvation of humanity, look at the life of Dr. Phelps.”
Phelps became president of Bishop O’Dowd, a private, Catholic, co-educational school in 2005. He was an omnipresent figure at sporting events, plays and other school-related activities.
His omnipresence extended to intellectual exercises as well. “If he didn’t win the discussion or argument, he simply wore you out,” said Sister Catherine DeBack, who joked she sometimes considered unplugging the phone to hold Phelps at bay. She added: “He also was warm, affectionate and compassionate.”
Father Matthews recalled Phelps as a whirlwind of positivity.
“He always had a smile on his face,” Matthews said. “His joy was infectious. God’s grace was discovered every day at school.”
Matthews said Phelps was committed to “core values at Bishop O’Dowd” — diversity “to the full measure of humanity,” strength of character, the environment and climate change, social justice and sustainability “to society as well as the world.”
Paul Torah, who knew Phelps from St. Ignatius, said his colleague seemed to have a lesson plan for everything, even their nature walks.
“You know the saying, ‘The student becomes the teacher?'” Torah asked. “That never happened with Steve. He was always the teacher. Both his body and his mind always were in motion.”
Torah recalled the day that Phelps, after recovering from having both knees replaced, called wanting to get back on the nature trail. Torah parked his car close to the summit of a hill, thinking Phelps would want to ease back into his avocation. Phelps, Torah said, parked at the bottom of the hill.
“He saw me and comes running up the hill with his new knees,” Torah said, eliciting laughter from the audience. “He taught me not to walk if you could run. Never rest if you can make someone else’s life better.
“Steve, you made my life so much better. Thanks for a life that was a lesson plan for us all.”
