Stephan Constantine Leonoudakis

OBITUARY

Stephan Constantine Leonoudakis

August 13, 1924-April 1, 2025

Stephan Constantine Leonoudakis, loving husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather passed away on April 1, 2025 at 100 years of age. He is survived by his children, Steve, Cathy, Tim, Jon, and Kristine.

Steve was a visionary, leader, entrepreneur, civic leader, and community servant. He was a connector, a friend to those in need, a hilarious story teller, a relentless optimist, and a fountain of positive energy whose warmth and humor could light up a room – Steve lived life to the fullest.

He was born to immigrant parents, Constantine and Katherine Leonoudakis, on August 13, 1924, in Carbonado, Washington. The family moved to San Francisco, where he was raised in the Excelsior District, attending Balboa high school before serving in the Army Air Corps in the Pacific theater during WWII, flying as a radio operator aboard B-29 bombers.

Upon his return, he met Rosemary Elms at San Francisco City College and fell in love. A year later they eloped and were married in Reno.

After graduating from San Francisco State College, Steve attended USF Law School and was admitted to practice in January 1951, joining the law firm of Lawrence, Tuttle, Harper, and Carpeneti. He soon established his own firm.

In 1953, Steve and his brother Nick rented a lot in North Beach, founding San Francisco Parking, which would, over the next 50 years, grow into CityPark, the largest privately owned and operated parking enterprise in San Francisco, running parking operations at Candlestick Park, SFO, and Union Square among its many sites. In the 1970’s the company added SFO Airporter which provided shuttle services to the major downtown hotels. Later branded as Loop Transportation, company pioneered the employee shuttle concept and became one of the largest bus fleets in the U.S. by providing transit services for employees at Silicon Valley companies such as Google, Apple, and Facebook.

In the early 60’s, Leo McCarthy and John Foran, who would eventually become California Lieutenant Governor and State Senator respectively, joined Steve as associates in the law firm of Leonoudakis and Kleines.

In 1962, Steve was elected by the SF Board of Supervisors to the Golden Gate Bridge Board of Directors. He would spend the next 38 years in public service to San Francisco and the bridge. In 1967, in response to growing traffic problems on the Golden Gate Bridge, Steve proposed bringing back ferries to the Bay, and by 1970 ferries were operating between San Francisco and Marin. Shortly thereafter, a transit bus system was added, due in part to his leadership and efforts in funding acquisition.

Family always came first with Steve, and with his dear Rosemary they raised a family of five filled with love, support, play, and laughter. He retired from his enterprises to care for Rosemary, who passed away in 2005. His sons and daughters Steve, Cathy, Tim, Jon, and Kristine have been blessed to share the gift of his life to the end. He loved and is loved by their spouses Dianne, David, Suzanne, Lisa, and Matt; his grandchildren Dmitri, Gabriel, Merylee, Diana, Kalyca, Cory, Nathaniel, Katrina, Matthew, Steve, Max, Ryan, and Rosie; and his great grandchildren Rylan, Zoe, and Lani.

Steve lived a life filled with family and friends, contribution and accomplishment, joy and laughter, celebrating a life of hope and gratitude, modeling his message that life “doesn’t get any better than this.”

Steve’s funeral will be limited to family. A Celebration of Life is planned to honor Steve in Fall 2025. In Lieu of flowers, the family welcomes gifts to The Stephan C. Leonoudakis Fund supporting the Cory's Ride program at Marin County Bicycle Coalition. Checks may be sent to: Marin County Bicycle Coalition c/o Leonoudakis Fund, PO Box 695, Fairfax, CA 94978

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