David Lawrence Stepler

8/4/1955 - 1/15/2026

Stonington - David Lawrence Stepler, 70, valiantly lost his battle with cancer, guided by his loving family Jan. 15, 2026. His positive spirit and outlook never wavered through this journey.

David was born Aug. 4, 1955, in Southington, to Wallace "Wally" and Bernice (Choquette) Stepler.

He is survived by his deeply loved wife of 47 years, Linda (Leno) Stepler; daughters, Sarah and Ellie Stepler, their spouses, Chris Jacques and Chelsea Sams; sister Cynthia; and brother Paul. He was predeceased by his parents; and brother Carl.

David graduated from Southington High School and went on to graduate from the University of New Haven with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. From there, David began an illustrious 40-year career at Electric Boat in Groton. Starting in the shipyard, he steadily rose through the ranks, retiring as manager of propulsion engineering. While we'll never really know what he did, he assured us it was some "really cool stuff."

A longtime Stonington resident and lifelong lover of the ocean and boating, David enjoyed countless summer sailing trips with his family to Watch Hill, Block Island, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard. He was happiest on the water and could often be heard saying "life is good." And he was right, life was good!

Upon retiring in 2018, David and Linda began their greatest adventure yet, sailing and living seven months a year aboard their Island Packet, Molly D. Their extended travels took them from Connecticut south to the Bahamas and Key West with new ports-of-call in between. Forever grateful for the opportunity to live their dream, they enjoyed fresh adventures, overcame unexpected challenges, and made many new lifelong friends along the way.

A Celebration of Life will be held this spring at a date to be announced. Please share your contact information at: https://tinyurl.com/davidstepler for updates.

In lieu of flowers, donations celebrating David's memory may be made to the Mystic Seaport Museum (mysticseaport.org) and/or the North Shore MA Chapter of Sailing Beyond Cancer (sailbeyondcancer.org).