Steve A Serjeant

Steve Serjeant, 69, of Oriental died on December 26, 2018 from gastric cancer following two years of chronic Lyme disease.

Steve was born and raised in Los Angeles where he roamed the streets independently, starting with his bicycle at age five before graduating to a skateboard.  He soon contrived a trailer for his bicycle to tote his surfboard to the beach, launching Steve’s lifelong love of the water. He learned to sail at his grandfather’s beach house in Malibu. A neighbor designed and built a Malibu Outrigger 17 upon which Steve and a friend – aged 12 sans life jackets - frequently sailed miles into the Pacific and then surfed the sailing canoe back onto the beach. When not dodging bullets during anti-war riots in the late 60’s, Steve continued to surf his longboard at UC Berkeley. After graduation, he opened a VW transmission repair shop in Santa Barbara and married a girl from Atlantic, NC, whose family assured Steve that the waves were just as good on the east coast. They moved to Carteret County where Steve established Eastern Aqua-tek and for over 30 years he provided technical assistance to water and waste water plants across eastern NC with a commitment to keep our drinking water safe.

At the end of their first date nineteen years ago, Steve and Katherine Hudson kissed in the middle of Arendell Street (in Morehead City) and fell in love. The couple moved to Carrboro but spent weekends sailing Steve’s boats with friends at Kerr Lake, Oriental and Masonboro. They eventually retired to Oriental in 2014 where Steve served on the town’s Water Advisory Board, got a Hobie Adventure Island Kayak, and faithfully monitored towndock.net hoping for small craft warnings. You might have seen him out in his red Hobie on windy days surfing the waves along the Neuse River.

Steve is survived by his mother, Diane Robinson; daughter, Capt. Carrie Serjeant, USAF; fiancée, Katherine Hudson; ex-wife, Barbara Hill Jernigan; nephew, Anthony Torres; step-step-children, Victor and Jessica Russo; “granddaughters” Umayma and Mona; and many other wonderful friends and family across the state and country.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to HeartWorks, a non-profit serving at-risk kids in Pamlico County. PO Box 365, Bayboro, NC 28515 or at HeartWorksNC.org.

Friends and family will gather on the Oriental waterfront this spring to wish Steve farewell.