Stephen W. Dember

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Stephen W. Dember, a beloved father, husband, and friend, who left us on October 25, 2025, at the age of 83. Born on May 29, 1942, in Chicago, IL, Stephen lived a life filled with love, laughter, and incredible accomplishments.
Stephen proudly served in the US Navy, aboard the USS Ranger (CV-61) aircraft carrier, embodying the values of dedication and service. He worked with radio communications and often had to climb to the top of the highest antennas where he serviced equipment, waved to passing pilots during naval exercises and left his hand prints pressed into the metal rails. The Navy was involved with the Mercury space program where he was first introduced to this field. This led him later to his involvement with the Gemini space program. He traveled around the world several times, spending time and meeting people and cultures that included Asia, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, Africa, Madagascar, Brazil, and Chile for starters.
After his time in uniform, he started a career with RCA which was deeply involved in space research and had contracts with NASA and the Apollo program. He worked for NASA on the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first astronauts on the surface of the Moon on July 20, 1969. In 1967, he married the love of his life, Marilia Dember, in Recife, Brazil. Their bond flourished over the years, welcoming two wonderful sons, Jesse and Steve, who were both mischievous rugrats, always getting into trouble. Stephen's family was one of his great joys, and pains in the neck. Although, he did cherish countless moments spent with family and friends.
After all the globetrotting and living abroad, he settled down in Island Lake in the early 1970s to raise a family and have a meaningful career as a Senior Field Systems Engineer working in the healthcare industry in hospital laboratory environments. He installed and serviced state of the art scientific computer laboratory blood analyzing instruments the size of several refrigerators filled with motors, tubes, pumps, fluids, and lots of electronics.
He loved conversation, swapping stories and engaging socially with the army of long time local patrons from the various local pubs. He loved spending his retirement meeting new people and learning about their lives. Creating and sharing nicknames, like Moose, 2 Dog, and Farmer Jim with other local patrons made for playful bonding. Community, connection, helping each other, and education were very important to him. He was a voracious reader of all manner of newspapers, magazines, scientific articles, and of course PlayBoy. He said they had very good articles. He enjoyed giving challenges to his sons that have included learning how to use a pogo stick, stilts, and even learning to ride a unicycle. He spent time teaching his boys how to use tools to fix and build their own bicycles from old discarded frames. Then driving him nuts when he couldn't find his tools because they were left scattered around the ground of the boys treehouse construction site. It made grandpa laugh. A telescope gift inspired his son Jesse to fall in love with the night skies and astronomy. Watching Carl Sagan's Cosmos with his son was a treasured moment that won't ever be forgotten. He's left a lasting impression on many folks all over the world throughout his lifetime.
Stephen is survived by his children: Jesse (Maryla) Dember and Steven (Ilene) Dember; his grandchildren: Daniel Popielarczyk, Matthew (Spencer) Haring, Alex Foster, Ryan Foster, and Samantha Foster; his siblings: Alfred Dember and Dianne Christy; his nieces: Denise Hadbaoui, and Annette Faltinowski; and his nephews: Wayne and Chris Maxson.
He was preceded in death by his parents: Alfred and Genevieve (Para) Dember; and his sister: Genene (Bill) Maxson.
A Memorial Visitation will be held at Colonial Funeral Home in McHenry, IL on Saturday, November 22, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. A Prayer Service will begin at 4:30 PM in the Funeral Home Chapel followed by Military Honors.
In this time of grief, let's remember Stephen for the love he shared and the joy he brought into our lives. His spirit will live on in our hearts forever. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Stephen, please visit our floral store.