When I think about Valentine’s Day, it makes me remember a very dear friend – Steve Morda. He always had a caring, loving heart and always put others before himself. Steve has always been a special friend as his wife Stella went to high school with my mother.

Valentine’s Day was always Steve’s favorite holiday. Steve worked for Hallmark Cards. One Valentine’s Day, Steve surprised his wife, his one true Valentine Stella, by arranging for a limousine to come to their house, pick her up and take her out to dinner. Steve was always a sweetheart.

Everyone would see just how strong a heart he had when he began the fight for his life, as in 2009, he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. Once diagnosed, Steve made it his mission to never give up and fight his hardest every day.

One thing Steve wanted to do is to give back to his community. So, he participated in several Pancreatic Cancer walks and partnered with the Lustgarten Foundation to help raise money for other cancer fighters.

It was never about him. He always put his family, friends, and community before himself – the true definition of selfless love.

Another great example of his selfless love occurred in 2012 when Steve’s daughter Jackie was getting married in Arizona. Steve had been in and out of the hospital because of chemotherapy. He did not let this stop him. No obstacle or disease was going to stop him from making her wedding.

He had such a strong heart that he willed himself to fly across the country and to get himself out of the hospital in time to walk his daughter Jackie down the aisle. Another act of selfless love.

Before his life journey ended, he did one more act of selfless love. He wanted to make sure his wife Stella and their daughters Jackie, Chrissy, and Stephanie would be well protected financially after he passed.

Steve took on cancer and fought it like a true warrior for nearly four years. On February 14, 2013, this time it was God’s turn, granting Steve the gate into heaven after a near year battle with pancreatic cancer. Ironically, Steve died on his favorite holiday. It is God’s way of blessing him for all he did for his family and his community and how hard he fought.

Steve was always there for Stella and their family helping them get through a couple turbulent years. One year after losing Steve, in the summer of 2014, Stella’s sister Maria and brother-in-law Jerry would both lose their own battles with cancer.

Life finally did turn around for Stella as she would move out of Connecticut, move to Florida, and would welcome several grandchildren into the world. None of this would have happened without her Guardian Angel Steve watching down on her telling her that everything will be alright.

Steve was a special person. It was an honor to call him a friend. He leaves behind a great legacy. We can all learn from him – how he never gave up and kept fighting and put others before himself. He inspired so many people in his journey. Steve died a hero! He died a winner!