Dennis J. Stefanik

Always trying to win the napping tournament, Dennis drifted off to eternal rest in his sleep on July 4, 2025. The timing is apt-he has always been a bit of a free spirit, and he clearly went out with a bang. Born to Andrew and Ellen Stefanik, raised with his brother, Regis, in Vandergrift, PA, he started this habit of "moving on" before those around him were ready before he reached adulthood. He dropped out of high school to enroll in college -though a certain song about the boys who drink the beer in the cellar of Vandergrift High suggests there was more to that story. He dropped out of college to explore the world. The timeline is fuzzy, but among the family folklore, there are stories of him having hitchhiked to New York and to San Diego, starting jobs in those cities, and inducing his big brother, Rege, to join him until Rege could convince him to return. Dennis then enlisted in the Army. His feet were flat, but his mind was sharp, and after training at the Defense Language Institute, he became a Russian interpreter for the Army Security Agency during the Cold War. Several decades later, his daughter learned of this piece of his history when men in black came to the door to inquire about a neighbor who applied for the Defense Language Institute. She asked Dennis if this meant he had been a spy, and he responded, "if sitting on a mountain with a Ham radio listening to men hundreds of feet away talking about sh&$*ing in the woods is spying, then I suppose." Between the Army and personal travel, he visited Turkey, Germany, China, Taiwan, Russia, Siberia, and Czechoslovakia.

Dennis returned to college eventually and followed it up with law school. He married Karen (maiden name, Sparkenbaugh) after dating briefly and proposing repeatedly. They had two children, Kevin in 1971 and Kelly in 1975. They settled down in Oakdale, PA, where Dennis hung a shingle and practiced law. He forged friendships with his neighbors, and had a soft heart for his clients, often taking payment in the form of pies or cookies. Although Roman Catholic with years of Catholic school behind him, he became an active member of the Noblestown U. P. Church and even stayed awake for at least part of many of Reverend Larimer's sermons.

Some of his favorite moments were those spent at home surrounded by people. He looked forward to the Sparkenbaugh family Christmas every year, and always pitched in with the preparation. When the kids had friends over, he would keep them supplied with Stromboli and snacks. He greatly enjoyed cheering on the West Allegheny sports while Kevin and Kelly were students there, especially soccer, and was one of several parents who successfully advocated for soccer teams at WA (the boys team started Kevin's freshman year and the girls team started Kelly's junior year). He was always up to drive his children wherever necessary to support their goals, whether chaperoning a chess tournament, taking them into Oakland for a summer class, or driving the family down roads meant for horse-drawn carriages (but there's a stop sign! Horses can't read!) to make back-to-back college tours. He loved dancing with his wife, especially the jitterbug, and especially to Jailhouse Rock. Once the nest was empty, he found numerous ways to occupy himself, including attempts at building a Hovercraft using a leaf blower and plywood, learning computer programming, and analyzing craps, complete with field trips to many casinos. One of the highlights of this chapter of his life was the time spent with his sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Roberta and Louis Sasfai and Gayle and Charles Muggar, including a memorable trip out west.

He welcomed a daughter-in-law, Rachelle (maiden name, Belak), in 2000, and his first grandchild, Katarina, in 2002. In 2004, he added a son-in-law, John Arnold, who is still waiting for the promised dowry of stock (in a company bankrupt since 2002). More grandchildren followed. Ciara Stefanik, Reece Arnold, Luke Arnold, Sabrina Stefanik, and Caroline Arnold. He cherished them all. He helped provide childcare for those who were local and attended every game and performance he could as long as his health allowed and Karen trusted him to drive that far. He cheered loudly, sometimes for the wrong player, but always positive. At least toward the player. For someone who never played soccer, he incurred a surprising number of yellow and red cards in his lifetime for questioning the refs. When the time came to downsize from the house on Hastings Avenue, he and Karen moved to Seven Fields, PA, probably to be closer to the soccer fields.

He beat cancer and was diagnosed with Parkinson's, but some things never changed: his love of his family and Dr. Pepper, his desire to always have his wife by his side, and a stubborn resistance to staying put -going so far as to hang a "HELP" sign in the window of his assisted living facility. His final days were filled with visits from family.

He is survived by his wife, Karen; son, Kevin; daughter, Kelly; daughter-in-law, Rachelle; son-in-law, John; and grandchildren, Katarina, Ciara, and Sabrina Stefanik and Reece, Luke, and Caroline Arnold; as well as nieces, Colleen Radebach, Cheryl Leghorn, Sharon Confortini, Sandy Muggar, Lisa Huesman, and Jodi Flack; and nephews, Jeff Sasfai and Doug Sasfai. As his family reflects on his life, his ability to make people laugh, often with pranks or self-deprecating jokes, is a source of comfort. A skit at Deer Valley Family camp, the oft-repeated stories of pranks with lifelong friends, Robert and Grace Chickis, his mad scientist type attempts at inventing things just for fun. It is also a source of comfort that he will be joining his family who predeceased him, his parents, Andrew and Ellen; his brother, Regis, and Regis' wife, Marie; and his nephew, Michael, as well as the family by marriage who predeceased him, including parents-in-law, Walter and Marcella Sparkenbaugh; his brother-in-law, Louis Sasfai and sister-in-law, Roberta Sasfai; and his brother-in-law, Charles Muggar.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites friends to donate either to the Rennerdale U.P. Church, where his niece, Reverend Jodi Flack, is the pastor, at https://www.rennerdalepresbyterian.org/online-giving or to the Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp, which has given Dennis and family more than 25 years of family memories, at https://www.deervalleyymca.org/give/.

All arrangements are private and entrusted to Thomas-Little Funeral Service, Inc. and Crematory, 5000 Noblestown Rd., Oakdale (724-693-2800).