In Memoriam: Steven Charles Pickett
Co-Founder of Friends-Together
1954 — April 25, 2005
A Life Marked by Compassion, Humility, and Faith
Steve Pickett lived a life shaped by service. Long before Friends-Together existed, Steve spent years on mission trips to the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Honduras. He helped build schools, supported education initiatives, and poured his heart into communities that quickly became like family. His faith showed through quiet acts of generosity, never seeking praise—only hoping to help.
When Steve met Cathy, their shared passion for service grew into something larger than either had imagined. Together they founded Friends-Together in 1999, creating safe spaces, camps, and community for people living with HIV and those who loved them.
A Vision That Changed Everything
Steve was the one who first dreamed of going to Tanzania.
He believed that Friends-Together’s mission should stretch beyond borders, and proposed climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise support and awareness. That climb would become one of the defining moments in Friends-Together’s history.
When Steve came down the mountain, Cathy remembers him looking “a bit like Moses”—eight days without a bath or shave, holding “tablets,” which were really spiral notebooks filled with thoughts, sketches, and hopes for the future of Friends-Together.
Inside those notebooks was the idea that Friends-Together should split its time between the United States and Tanzania. He wrote that they could not witness what they had seen and walk away unchanged.
At the bottom of the mountain, Cathy was thinking the very same thing.
Their dreams began there—side by side.
Gone Too Soon, But Still Guiding the Work
Just six months after returning home from Tanzania, Steve passed away unexpectedly at the age of 50. The loss shook everyone who knew him—family, friends, and the growing Friends-Together community.
Yet his influence remained.
The earliest programs, the first camps, the decision to journey to Tanzania, and the core belief that friendship can be a healing force—all of it carries Steve’s fingerprints. As Cathy says:
“'None of this would have started without his vision to go to Tanzania. He lives through every single thing we do.”
His commitment to service continued even in death as an organ donor, offering the gift of life to others.
Steve is survived by his wife, Cathy, and stepchildren Lyndsy and Garrett, whom he loved wholeheartedly.
His Legacy in Our Work Today
Every time a child receives school shoes,
every time a mother learns a skill at the tailoring school,
every time a community in Tanzania grows stronger—
Steve’s legacy echoes forward.
The dreams he wrote on those “tablets” at the top of Africa became the foundation of a movement.
Photo Gallery
💬Voices of Remembrance (📜 Quotes & Testimonials)
“I remember Steve’s passion for testing college students and community members at Florida Southern, raising awareness for World AIDS Day, supporting Take Back the Night programs, and—most of all—the camps for children infected and affected by AIDS. These were the causes closest to his heart. His love and compassion for others made him a joy to be around. We weren’t ready to lose him, but I hope he is proud of all that has grown from the work he helped begin.” - Jon Hermelbracht
Carry His Legacy Forward