Steve M. Hollander

Steve M. Hollander
February 20, 1987 - June 22, 2024
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Steve M. Hollander. On June 22, 2024, the world, his family, and many friends lost a bright light. Steve, age 37, was a father, husband, brother, son, and faithful friend to many in his life.
Steve grew up in Skokie Illinois, and attended School District 73½. He loved his friends and enjoyed youth sports, especially basketball. He liked math and looked forward to being a businessman. Beginning in middle school, Steve loved jazz, rap, and DJ-ing. For High School, he attended Loyola Academy in Wilmette where he continued to make great friends and enjoyed jazz band, table tennis, cross country and tennis. Steve enjoyed family time and vacations, especially with his brother Danny. He liked traveling to Cape Cod, Florida and California for vacations with his extended family. He went on to graduate from DePaul University and Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business.
Steve met his wife Sarah on a snowy Chicago evening in January 2016. They shared their favorite Lakeview spots for their early dates like Farm Bar, Cork Lounge, and Julius Meinl cafe. Steve embraced the Chicago Cubs just in time for their championship season. He and Sarah enjoyed many games together with her partial season tickets in the bleachers. They enjoyed walking around the city to take in the sites but also to catch Pokémon in Pokémon Go. They moved to Santa Monica, California in 2017. Steve and Sarah quickly adopted the California lifestyle with their lemon tree, exploring and eating their way through the neighborhoods of LA with friends, Steve biking to work everyday that was only a few blocks from the ocean, weekend hiking, and being cold when it's the 60s. They married in the comfort of their apartment in May 2020 with their immediate family and friend officiant joining virtually. Despite their deep love for California, they decided to move back to Chicago in late 2021 to be closer to family and to expand their own. Steve and Sarah welcomed their daughter Emma in November 2022. Steve was a devoted father and Emma adores him. Steve and Emma had an instant special connection. Steve was the first person to make her laugh, taught her how to make a proper pig noise, developed her love of games, walked her to daycare every morning, found creative ways for her to eat new foods, and catered to her love of the baby swing with a lot of trips to the park. Their home was filled with love and laughter and many weekend takeout containers of their favorite Chicago restaurants. This past May, Steve and Sarah, joined by their daughter Emma, finally had their long-planned wedding reception surrounded by friends and family, celebrating their love and commitment.
Continuing into adulthood, Steve had a lifelong love of music, particularly jazz and rap, which he shared with his brother. He was passionate about sports which he shared with his family and friends. Steve was a lifelong Chicago Bulls fan and commissioner of his fantasy basketball league. For his MBA capstone project, along with a classmate, Steve developed a model for predicting NBA player performance for daily fantasy sports. Steve was a TV and movie connoisseur and was everyone's go-to person for recommendations. Steve was a lover of board games and video games. He had an impressive board game collection and the latest gaming systems. A typical evening at home for Steve would be watching a TV show with Sarah, playing live sports on his laptop set-up next to him, portable video game system in hand, and catching up on texts with friends. Steve was an accomplished pizza chef, dabbling in the styles of Neapolitan, Detroit, and sourdough. Steve was kind and had a big heart. He mentored first generation college students through America Needs You in Chicago and Los Angeles. Steve adopted a vegetarian diet after meeting the animal residents of the Farm Animal Refuge in Campo, California.
Despite his health setbacks, Steve maintained positivity, optimism, and strength. He enjoyed life. We are all left with fond memories, and a sense of gratitude for having had the opportunity to know Steve, although we all wish we could have had more time with him. Steve touched the lives of many people in such a short time.
Steve leaves behind his wife Sarah, daughter Emma, parents Russ and Nancy, brother Dan, and countless family and friends who will miss him dearly and hold him in their hearts.
Celebration of Life, Saturday, August 10, 2024, at the Glenview Park Center (Lakeview Room), 2400 Chestnut Ave., Glenview. Open House from 9 a.m. until time of Remembrance Service, 11 a.m., for family and close friends.
Memorial contributions may be sent to: Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation for NMO Research
or Emma's Education Fund
Please add pictures and stories of Steve on his Kudoboard.