Norman H. Stepno

Mr. Stepno was born and raised in Holyoke, Massachusetts and was the oldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Norman L. Stepno. Mr. Stepno graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1961 with a degree in biochemistry, long before anyone knew how important that field would become. After college, he became a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, specializing in examining 6-membered heterocyclic chemical ring systems. While working at the Patent Office, he attended Georgetown Law School at night, graduating in 1964.

Over the course of his illustrious career as a chemical patent attorney, Mr. Stepno was a partner at several premier intellectual property firms, including Steven, Davis, Miller & Mosher; Stepno, Schwaab & Linn; Bacon & Thomas; and Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis. He retired in 2014 from Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney PC, which had acquired Burns, Doane in 2005. Mr. Stepno prosecuted thousands of patent applications and litigated patent disputes in federal district courts, the United States International Trade Commission, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is also the sole named inventor on U.S. Patent No. 3,880,164, titled “Osmotic Wound Drain.” Mr. Stepno’s clients, ranging from individual inventors to large corporations to Nobel Prize winners, spanned the globe and many considered him not just their counsel, but their dear friend.

Mr. Stepno was the proud member of numerous professional, technical, and civic organizations, including the Delta Theta Phi fraternity, the American Chemical Society, the American Pharmaceutical Association, the Academy of Magical Arts, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Licensing Executives Society, the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, the Federal Circuit Bar Association, and the Patent Lawyers Club of Washington, D.C.

All who knew Mr. Stepno appreciated his quick wit, kindness, and generosity. He enjoyed golfing, deep sea fishing, gardening, and traveling. What he enjoyed even more was his family. Mr. Stepno is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Sharon Stepno; children Colleen Beveridge (John “Chip” Beveridge), Deborah Stepno, Norman Stepno, Jr., and Erin Dunston; his grandchildren Vanessa McNabb (Jason McNabb), John “Jack” and Connor Beveridge, and Emma and Lily Stepno; and his brother, David Stepno.

Friends are invited to a memorial service in Mr. Stepno’s honor on Friday, April 6, 2018, at Demaine Funeral Home at 520 South Washington Street in Alexandria, Virginia, at 11 A.M. A reception will immediately follow the memorial service.