May 30, 1943 – January 23, 2026
Stephen D. Albin was a loving son, brother, husband, father, father-figure, grandfather and friend. He was born May 30, 1943 in Oakland, CA and moved to Los Altos when he was two years old. He attended elementary, middle and high school in Los Altos as well as classes at Foothill College.
In 1962, he met the love of his life, Donna while in high school; they were married in 1964 and built a house next door to where he was raised. Together, he and Donna raised three healthy children in Los Altos.
Steve loved the countryside and in 1980, he bought property in Jamestown, CA and built a retreat for the family to enjoy year round. He felt a deep sense of peace in Jamestown.
Steve and Donna also spent more than 35 years visiting Kennedy Meadows, an hour north of Jamestown, where they camped, fished and hiked in the Sierra Nevada mountains. He and Donna traveled to many international destinations and took three wonderful trips with their seven grandkids: Alaska, Ireland and Africa.
Steve was an entrepreneur – he operated his frame shop business at Rancho Shopping Center for more than 42 years and had numerous product patents. He was the first chairman of the Professional Picture Framers Assoc, held a board position and was active teaching others the art of framing. He was active in the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce, participated in many charitable events and could always be found volunteering at the annual Rancho Pancake breakfast.
After retiring in 2011, it was discovered that he had amyloidosis, a rare disease of an abnormal buildup of proteins called amyloid fibrils, in tissues and organs, in his heart. In 2015, Steve was matched with a heart donor and underwent heart transplant surgery. And because of a generous organ donor, he was gifted another 10+ years of life.
Steve was a true people-person, and often struck up conversations with strangers throughout his life, many who became lifelong friends. He had the gift of curiosity, communication and creativity. On any given day, Steve could be found playing his guitar, singing, writing song lyrics, creating products, fixing things, telling a joke, taking his dog Lucy for a walk, and spending time with his family and dear friends.
On November 28, 2025, Steve opted for hospice at home, after little relief in and out of the hospital, and after eight weeks, he took his last breath peacefully at home in Los Altos, surrounded by family.
Steve is survived by his wife of 62 years, Donna Albin, son Mike Albin and his wife Araceli, daughter Joelle Bryson and her husband Jim and daughter Susie Albin-Najera and her husband Rick as well as Steve’s seven beautiful grandchildren in order of age: Julian (22), Jackson (22), Kelly (21), Sonora (21), Alex (20), Jerard (19) and Kennedy (18) as well as his beloved white lab, Lucy.
Steve loved his family, friends and life dearly. He will be missed dearly. May he rest in peace.
The celebration of life for Stephen D. Albin will take place on:
Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 1:00 PM at Union Presbyterian Church of Los Altos
858 University Avenue Los Altos, CA 94024
Reception immediately following
*In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to The Amyloidosis Research Consortium, https://arci.org, or Donor Network West, https://donornetworkwest.org.
