Leo Stepanian

Leo McElligott Stepanian, 86, of Butler died Monday at the Good Samaritan Hospice at Concordia.
Born Nov. 12, 1929, in Butler, he was the son of Steven A. Stepanian and Edithmarion McElligott Stepanian.
He was a 1948 graduate of Charleroi High School. He obtained a bachelor of arts degree, cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame and a doctor of laws degree from the University of Pittsburgh Law School, where he received the prestigious U.S. News and World Report award in his final year.
Stepanian was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He served with the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles," and later became a special agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps. While a member of the Counter Intelligence Corps, his duty took him to Korea, Japan, Germany, Italy, France and England.
He was a member and judge advocate of the Chicora American Legion Post 642. He was selected American Legionnaire of the Year in 1986 and Veteran of the Year in 2010. He was a member of Chicora Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7876 and received the National VFW Certificate of Appreciation for the Year 2012. He also was elected a Gold Circle Member of the National Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.
Stepanian began the practice of law in 1958 in Butler County. He was admitted and authorized to practice law before all county courts in Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth, Superior and Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1965, he associated in the practice of law with John H. Brydon under the firm name of Brydon and Stepanian. When Brydon was elected judge in Butler County in 1982, he formed a partnership with Bruno A. Muscatello under the firm name of Stepanian & Muscatello.
After Bruno Muscatello's death in 2009, he formed a partnership with his son, Leo M. Stepanian II, and Andrew M. Menchyk Jr. under the firm name of Stepanian & Menchyk.
Stepanian initially practiced law as a criminal defense attorney and represented defendants in various criminal cases including three separate murder cases. When his partner, John H. Brydon, was elected district attorney of Butler County, Stepanian then concentrated solely on civil law in the areas of personal injury, real estate, wills and estates, corporate and business. He was a noted trial attorney and litigator, and he had tried cases in most of the counties in Western Pennsylvania and also in various other states.
Stepanian was a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and served on the Committee for Professionalism, the Committee for Senior Lawyers, and the Committee for Veteran Affairs. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Evaluation Investigation Committee, which investigates lawyers running for election as an appellate court judge, and the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Civil Litigation Section.
Stepanian was co-founder of the Butler County Legal Journal and was the editor since its inception in 1959. He was the chairman of the Butler County Legal Journal Committee, the co-founder of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Section of County Legal Journals, the co-chairman of the Fee Dispute Committee of the Butler County Bar Association, a mediator for the Court of Common Pleas of Butler County, a judge of the Pennsylvania Moot Court Competition, a member of the American Judicature Society, and was listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers in the United States.
He was the solicitor for the Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans' Court of Butler County for over 40 years. He had previously been the solicitor for various municipalities, including Butler Township, Center Township and Forward Township. He was the solicitor for the Butler Township Water and Sewer Authority since its inception in 1970.
Stepanian was a member of St. John's Reformed Church, Chicora, and also St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Butler.
Stepanian served as a member of and supported various civic and community organizations including the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation, chairman of the board of trustees of Slippery Rock College, president of the Butler County Mental Health Association, director of the Pennsylvania Mental Health Association, grand knight of the Butler Knights of Columbus Council 866, division chairman of the Butler County United Way, division chairman of the WQED Fund, section chairman of the Butler County Memorial Hospital Fund, division chairman of the Cancer Crusade, commissioner of the Butler Bantam Baseball League, director of the Butler County Lutheran Family Counseling Service, assistant coach in the Butler Midget Football League, director of the Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame, division chairman of the Heart Fund, member of the Board of Regents of St. Fidelis College, member of the Butler County Prison Study Commission, and co-founder and director of the Butler Quarterback Club.
He was a strong gun-rights advocate and a long time member of the National Rifle Association. In 2000, he was named to the NRA Millennium Honor Roll.
He obtained a private pilot's license in 1949 and flew from the Alameda Airport, now the Butler Commons.
He enjoyed boating and was a charter member and attorney for the Lake Arthur Pontoon Boat Owners' Association. He had a pontoon boat on Lake Arthur from the date it opened in 1970.
He was an avid sports fan, particularly football, having learned and played the game under his father who was the football coach at Charleroi High School for 25 years. He was a season-ticket holder for the Pittsburgh Steelers since 1960 and attended their games at Forbes Field, Pitt Stadium, Three Rivers Stadium and Heinz Field. He attended every Super Bowl in which the Steelers played.
Surviving are his wife, Maryann Beachem Stepanian; three sons and daughters-in-law, Leo M. Stepanian II and Gwen (Truben) Stepanian of Butler, Joshua L. Stepanian and Jamie (Anderson) Stepanian of Slippery Rock, and Jonathan B. Stepanian and Shannon Stepanian of Elizabethtown, Pa.; one daughter, Leanne Stepanian of Butler; one stepdaughter, Chelsie L. Young of Colorado Springs, Colo.; six grandchildren, Amber A. Stepanian, Amy T. Stepanian, Steven A. Stepanian III, David M. Stepanian, Joshua J. Stepanian and Cailin Stepanian; five great-grandchildren, Jade Stepanian, Taryn Miller, Jayden Miller, Matthew McCalman and Marion McCalman; one sister-in-law, Pamela A. Stepanian of Pittsburgh; and one sister, Dr. Laurie A. Stepanian of Butler.
His brother, Steven A. Stepanian II, died in August of 2015.
In addition to his family, he loved his dog, an Irish Airedale terrier named Kasey. Kasey was his constant companion and Stepanian often said his dog was better company than most people he knew. He considered Kasey part of his family.
STEPANIAN - Friends of Leo Stepanian, who died Monday, May 9, 2016, will be received from 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Geibel Funeral Home, 201 E. Cunningham St., Butler. Burial and services will be private for family only.
In lieu of flowers, a charitable donation may be made to Chicora American Legion Post No. 642, P.O. Box 43, Chicora, Pa. 16025.