Stephen William Carey

IRONWOOD, Mich. — Stephen William Carey, 65, of Ironwood, died on June 16, 2015, in the comfort of his home and with the support of his family and hospice nurses.

Stephen was born on Dec. 28, 1949, in Brooklyn, N.Y.

As the son of Air Force Colonel William J. Carey and Margaret T. (Kilkelly) Carey, Stephen and his sister, Nancy, found themselves living in many different areas of the USA, as well as four years in Germany. After returning stateside, they made their permanent home in Clinton, Md. Both of his parents predeceased him, his mother in June of last year.

On Nov. 26, 1993, Stephen and Marilyn Schlecht were joined in matrimony in Maryland. They were blessed with two daughters, Stephanie and Emily. The girls formed warm bonds with the three children, Briana, Ian, and William (Joe), born from his first marriage. He was a loving, caring father and was very proud of each of his children.

Stephen graduated from Virginia Tech in 1974 with a degree in Aerospace and Ocean Engineering. In addition, he received a master of science degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California in 1982, and an MS degree in Information Technology Management from George Mason University in 1989.

Stephen began his career with the federal government as a civilian staff member with the Navy’s Air Systems Command as an aircraft suitability engineer. Later, he was promoted to the position of Analyst for Strategic Planning. After retiring from the Defense Department in 2003, he worked as a senior systems engineer for Ausley Associates in Lexington Park, Md., until he retired in 2012.

Besides his family and his work, Stephen enjoyed playing the guitar from an early age. He played professionally in a rock and roll band, Metronome, in the D.C. area.

Stephen’s other joy was gourmet cooking. He will always be recalled standing at the counter with a dozen or so little bowls of finely chopped ingredients waiting to be added to some special sauce or gravy.

Stephen is survived by his wife, Marilyn; three daughters, Briana (Keith) Johnsen, Denver; Stephanie and Emily, of Ironwood; and two sons, Ian, of Severn, Md., and Joey, of Denver; and one grandson, Ryder Stephen Johnsen, of Denver. He is also survived by his sister and brother in-law, Nancy and Steve D’Agostino, Fort Washington, Md .; brother-in-law, Joseph Parisi, of Chicago; sisters-in-law, Susan (George) Witt, of Ironwood, Mary (Jon) Knorr, of La Canada, Calif., Linda Schlecht, of St. Cloud, Minn., and Minda (Jim) Portz, of Waukesha, Wis .; three nieces, Lauren Mendel, Anne (Keith) Bastman, and Margaret (Neil) Minkin, and three nephews, Jason (Diane) Mendel, Brian (Mikaele) Witt and Michael (Alexa) Helinski.

Besides his parents, Stephen was preceded in death by his dear mother-in-law, Phyllis Schlecht; his sister-in-law, Margaret Schlecht, and numerous aunts and uncles.

Upon his request, cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be announced at a future date.