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Life story
1966
 
1966
 
1966
 
1966
 
 Stephen loved  oh so deeply and had a spirit that would never give up. He loved life ,his God and his country. His caring heart extended to both his friends and family alike. Stephen was born in New York City and loved living there. He enoyed summers in Deal NJ and the  annual trip to Great Adventure with Kevin Kathleen, Betty ANN.. 

His father Martin died when Stephen was 16 years old and before that he spent every summer at Lake George, swimming, fishing, horseback riding. Stephen missed his father and treasured all the condolences that he had received at that time until today. At age 16 he had a job at McDonald's and saved all the leftover food to give to  the homeless men in the street.  His compassion extended to animals and he would bring home any stray cat and dog he would find. After  Stephen graduated and obtained a well paying job he was able to pursue his true passion, car racing.

Before he was 40 years old he had achieved all his dreams. He had purchased his dream house. found the true love of his life and was recognized as one of the top drag racers in the country. 

His love of God and his country were evident and  the American flag always was displayed proudly on his front porch.
Stephen's love for life caused him to pursue  many dreams that others thought were possible. When he was 18 he purchased  a 1967 Camaro and decided to rebuild that car into a drag racing car. Everyone, especially his mother told him that such a dream could simply not be done, since he lived in a Manhattan apartment. Stephen did not let their words, stop him. Somehow he managed to get the engine out of the car into the apartment living room and then remolded it into a racing engine..
After taking his first full-time job, he was able to rent a small garage where he continued to take the entire apart and rebuild it piece by piece into a racing machine. Later this job, enabled him to buy a house in Long Branch, one which he and his cousin Cathy enthusiastically hunted for and  purchased in record time when he was 24 years old. The house which he took great pride in was perfect for his lifestyle had a huge garage and was very close to the racetrack. With this he had a two hour commute to work and plenty of room to work on his car. Nothing could stop him at this point. When he finally finished rebuilding the car,he painted it canary yellow and named it "Little Victories" Stephen said yhe  name is appropriate because it had required so many "little victories "over his impatience, and the doubts of others to finish the huge task. He was proud of the car as well as his drag racing abilities, that it helped him develop over the years. He raced  his heart out in Englishtown in 1999. He finished 10th in the tracks, super .6 that won him $1000 and more importantly the racing jacket he owns
. Stephen was so happy


He was deeply affected by the events of 9/11. His mother worked at one World Trade Center and on the day before the infamous attacks he  called her and said he had a terrible dread that something bad was going to happen and asked her to stay at his house for a few days. She agreed, took a few vacation days and was not at work on that day. . Stephen  never recovered from that event . Perhaps Steve's love of God and life was best displayed in the tender care he extended toward the multitude of stray animals that came into his life. It was the possum"Spook" that  Stephen fed  every night  and then there was a squirrel named Braveheart who came into  the house every day and hopped up on Stephen's bed to get nuts Stephen named him Braveheart because it took a "brave heart",  for  the little creature   to enter the house.
Of all the hopeless, helpless, nloved and unwanted animals that make their way into Stephen's life,t he most important  was an ancient dirty long-haired stray cat who  roamed around the neighborhood with lots of fur balls all over its body. She lived on Stephen's porch for  two weeks before Stephen finally invited her in. From the moment she entered the house, however, it was instant love. She was not in good health,so, Stephen called  the animal rescue, arm of  the family, Dora for fast run to the Vet.t. It was determined that the cat needed teeth to be pulled and fur shaved.After receiving such great care and attention she never left Stephen's property.  As time went by she became weaker and weaker and Stephen would always say, don't worry about her mom   God won't let her die or get sick anywhere out there. She will be come  right back  here. He was right. The cat came in one morning, barely able to move climbed into  the bed. Stephen had made for her in  the house. and died peacefully. Stephen, had great faith and instead of crying about his fate. He accepted the situation, saying" if this is the life God wants me to have it is better than no life"  He  was a person with a beautiful spirit, a hearty laugh and love of life. I miss him greatly
March 4, 1966
 
May 6, 2007