James Stegmann

Jim was born on October 21, 1949, in Aurora, Illinois. He will be remembered for his kindness, his great laugh, his sharp mind, and his ability to strike up a conversation with just about anyone. He was especially well known for two things he could talk about for hours: his profession as a tax accountant and his beloved New York Yankees.

Jim was immensely proud of his education and the career he built from it. He was an alumnus of the University of Illinois (Go Illini!), John Marshall Law School, and Georgetown University, where he earned his postgraduate law degree in Taxation. Education was deeply important to Jim, not simply as an accomplishment, but as something he believed should be valued and passed down. He took great pride in seeing both of his children earn master’s degrees and was equally proud of encouraging his grandchildren to learn, grow, and pursue their own education.

Jim and his wife, Sheila, were also a true entrepreneurial team. In the 1990s, Jim founded Stegmann Associates, a tax accounting practice that became an important part of his life and career. Sheila worked alongside him as an associate, and together they built the business while raising their family. Jim was passionate about his work and found it difficult to let go of the business he had built, finally retiring in 2024. Even retirement did not completely end his career as the family accountant—he continued to prepare tax returns for family members each year.

Above all else, Jim’s family meant the world to him. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend who always put family first. He rarely missed a sporting event or dance recital for his children, and he carried that same enthusiasm into being a grandfather. He proudly attended his grandchildren’s events and kept their pictures, drawings, and handwritten notes in his office as reminders of the people he loved most.

Jim and Sheila would have celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary on September 12. Over nearly five decades together, they shared the ups and downs of raising a family, building a business, and eventually beginning to enjoy retirement together. After so many years of working and raising their children, they had only just begun settling into this next chapter of their lives. They had plans, places they wanted to go, and expected to have more time together.

Jim always said he wanted to live to 100. He said it often enough that those who knew him well truly believed he might make it. While he did not get the chance to reach that milestone, he spent his life building the things he valued most: a loving marriage, a family he was immensely proud of, a successful career, and a legacy of education and hard work.

Jim is survived by his wife, Sheila; his son, James, and his wife, Kathryn, and their daughter, Allison; his daughter, Jenna, and her husband, Rodrick, and their daughter, Kiera; his sister, Joyce, and her husband, Mike; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and brothers- and sisters-in-law on both sides of the family.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Eugene and Mary Jane Stegmann; his paternal grandparents, Carl and Catherine Stegmann; his maternal grandparents, Theodore and Olive Lucille Landgraf; and his brother, Jerry Stegmann.

Jim will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all those who had the privilege of knowing him.

To best honor his wishes, in lieu of flowers please donate to the National Academy of Sciences (nasonline.org/donate/), in memory of Jim Stegmann. As an accountant, Jim would want you to remember this qualifies as a tax-deductible donation.