Brian Reid Stucka

Brian Reid Stucka, 57, passed away on April 27th, 2024 at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, surrounded by family and friends. The cause of death was a heart infection that required valve reconstructive surgery, but which he couldn't survive.

He was born March 11th, 1967 on Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas - the son of Daniel Allen Stucka and Norene Willers Stucka. As father Dan transitioned from the military to the Air National Guard and later a career in finance, the family relocated to the northern Chicago suburbs where Brian's parents had each grown up. Brother Daryl was born in 1970 and brother Tim followed in 1980. They remained close all their lives.

Brian's childhood was spent in the Glencoe, IL public school system and at New Trier High School, from which he graduated in 1985. He often spoke fondly of the strong friendships he made and good-natured mischief he got into during these formative years. College studies brought Brian (and later brother Daryl) to Iowa City, where he was popular with his peers and became President of his Sigma Pi fraternity. He so thoroughly enjoyed the experience that he added an extra semester, ultimately graduating in 1990 and declaring college "the best four-and-a-half years of my life" :)

He moved to Chicago in 1992 and began a successful three-decade career in the options trading industry. Brian spent the nineties as a market maker on the CBOE trading floor, where he shared an office known as the Sage Group with his father Dan, brother Daryl, and several other fellow traders and close friends. Starting in 2000, he started working directly for the CBOE exchange as a software analyst, which led to subsequent roles with trading tech leaders, most recently FlexTrade. During these years he also met lovely Elaine, who was not only an acquaintance through the Chicago trading community, but also a professional chef. They married in 2005, and spent more than two happy decades together in Barrington, IL & Santa Clarita, CA. Their doors were always open to friends & neighbors, and their parties were always full and lively.

Those who have spent even a small amount of time with Brian rave about his zest for life, his grand stories, his quickness with a smile or a joke. His work colleagues described him as "truly a pleasure to work with, and universally liked by anyone he interacted with". Brian lived life to the max, and he will be sorely missed by us all.

Brian is survived by his wife Elaine, his parents Dan & Norene, his brothers Daryl & Tim, and close relatives across the Stucka & Johnson families. He will be cremated according to his wishes, and continue to fill our memories with his warmth and light.