Stephen Pistilli

Stephen Michael Pistilli, 57, lost his strongly fought battle against cancer on December 25, 2024. Stephen is survived by his wife, Kim Erik and his three pups, Lacey, Luna and Sampson as well as his sister and brother-in-law, Pam and Steve DeLuca and his nephews Charlie, Joseph and his niece, Gianina. He is predeceased by his mother, Judith (Paschall) Pistilli, his grandparents, Charles and Carlene Paschall and Michael and Jenny Pistilli, his aunts, Charlene Whitford (Paschall) and Roseann (Pistilli) Vargon, and Izzy, their beloved boxer. Stephen, in the words of his oncologist, was a man of few words. He fought his cancer diagnosis like he lived his life with stubborn persistence. Stephen spent four years as a military policeman with the US Army following graduation from high school. Upon his return, he enrolled at Rutgers University and pledged Theta Chi. These life-long friendships brought fun watching his favorite baseball team, the Mets as well as good and bad days on the green. Stephen was an entrepreneur in partnership with his sister, starting at the age of 10 when they ran a large paper route. Later they would open a restaurant in their home town of West Milford. Stephen was the head chef at GOODIES. After the death of their mother, Stephen moved to Madison, Wisconsin to open up a new manufacturing plant for the company he worked for in New Jersey. Following a year in Madison (it was much too cold!), he moved to Florida where he joined the National Reserves as a medic. During the hurricane season of 2004, he spent much of his time helping communities clean up and put their lives back in order. In 2005, when the unit was called to serve a year in Afghanistan. Stephen volunteered to go. He spent a year on the ground in the war zone. Upon his return, Stephen re-connected with his fraternity brothers and landed at Symrise, a fragrance manufacturing company. During this time, social media also connected him to an old friend from high school, Kim. A move to Easton, PA provided Stephen his grandest project - a new house in need of renovation with a lawn big enough for their dogs too. Stephen and Kim created a home with gardens for flowers and vegetables, and a squirrel hunting ground for Luna and Sammy. A celebration of life will be planned in early 2025. The family requests donations in Stephen's honor be made to your local animal shelter or favorite pet rescue.