Stephen Sanford Witt

Stephen Sandford Witt, beloved husband to Carmen (Usiak), father of Matthew, Ann, and Mark, and mentor and friend to legions passed on January 16th, 2025. Steve was born in Oakland, California and moved to Queens, New York City and back to the Bay Area as a boy. Steve was rigorously educated by the Jesuits, first attending Bellarmine College Preparatory and then graduating from Santa Clara University as a scholarship student. At Santa Clara, he unwittingly disproved his own graduation thesis, submitted it anyway, and was allowed to graduate due to a combination of honesty about his findings and good writing. Steve credited much of his success in life to the skills imparted by his Jesuit education. He joined the Army, serving as an officer in the Adjutant General's Corps, where he held one of the highest security clearances possible. After mustering out of the Army with an honorable discharge for meritorious service, Steve joined The Hartford, where he had a long and productive career. Steve freely acknowledged that his success at work would not have been possible without Carmen's support. Steve and family relocated repeatedly, bouncing from coast to coast and overseas to England. As a result of his travels, his children were born 3000 miles apart from each other, Matthew in Hartford, Ann in San Francisco, and Mark in London. While living in England, Steve traveled around Europe fixing many small and often amusingly dysfunctional insurance companies that The Hartford acquired. These continental trips provided many a great story involving fantastic food, fine bottles of wine, and often sketchy characters. During his thirty four years of service at the Hartford, he started as a ratings clerk and retired as Vice President of the marketing, sales, and corporate research departments. Outside of work, Steve loved hiking, opera, gardening, sports, and poker with his fellow Hartford retirees. He relished a good meal out with friends and family, after which he was known to declare, "Oh, how we deprive ourselves!" Before and after retirement, Steve served his community by sitting on a number of boards of charitable organizations including the local YMCA. In later years, never one to sit still, Steve stepped in to help organize the West Hartford farmer's market and provided work advice and counsel to his daughter-in-law, Jen. Steve taught his grandsons, Elliot and Owen, to play chess but did not impart upon them his love of the New York Yankees. He shared a passion for Shakespeare, reading, and good movies with his son, Matthew. Steve enthusiastically supported other's dreams and aspirations and as a result became a surrogate father figure to many work colleagues, relatives, and neighbors. Steve was a giant personality and all who knew him have a "Steve" story to tell. We will miss him greatly but know that he will live on through the retelling of his stories by each of you. His family wishes him well on his journey into the undiscovered country from which no traveler returns.