Our beloved Stephanie passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and friends on February 5, 2021 at her home in Santa Cruz, CA. She was born in Turlock, Ca. to Stephen and Darleen
Stavrianoudakis. She was raised in Hilmar, Ca and graduated from Hilmar High School in 1979.
Her initial career in banking began locally until she moved to the city she loved, San Francisco.
Her passion for helping and caring for others was realized when in her words, “Life experiences surrounding my father’s health guided me towards nursing. I experienced firsthand the impact nurses have on an individual’s life”. This led her to become a Registered Nurse in 1999. She worked at UCSF and was honored to receive the Daisy award for extraordinary nursing in 2007. She never stopped pushing herself to be better in all aspects of life and her career.
To further her ability to comfort and heal, she learned Spanish and traveled to Spain, Morocco,
Ecuador, and more. Traveling with friends and family was her passion.
In 2010, her personal battle against breast cancer took her to a different level of nursing. After 3 years of experiencing care and treatment, she found herself in awe of the nurses and the love they gave to their cancer patients. It inspired her to become certified in Oncology Nursing.
When she could no longer meet the physical demands of nursing, her mission was to educate patients about the healing powers of food. She worked diligently and through her efforts, UCSF was granted funding for “Food For Life”. This entailed providing patients with nourishing organic snacks during their infusion treatments, as well as educational materials. With gratitude for all of those that helped start this project, “Food For Life” was launched in 2013.
Stephanie met the love of her life, Mauricio Herrador, while studying Anat Baniel Method, a healing through movement modality. They quickly recognized they were the perfect match.
They moved to Santa Cruz and were married on their favorite path on the West Cliffs, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Stephanie touched the lives of every person she met, whether it be family, friends, or a patient she sat with at the bedside. It is undeniable that she changed the lives of the people around her. Her tenderness, beautiful smile, joy for life, and love of family, leaves a hole in this world, but also leaves great memories of joy and laughter to be cherished forever. “Love” was always her answer.
She is survived by her loving husband, Mauricio Herrador, Mother, Darleen Stavrianoudakis, brothers Peter (Katie), Bill (Stacey) and Ted (Tamara). Nieces and nephews, Shaynie, Athena, Alex, Jeremy and Justin. She was preceded in death by her father Stephen Stavrianoudakis.
