Steven M. Stark

Steven M. Stark was born in Chicago, Illinois to parents Neil and Laura (Bissett) Stark on November 13, 1955. He was the first born and older brother to Tim, Jeanette, and Linda. Except for a small stint in St. Louis, Missouri, Steve was raised in Chicago and it has been said that he “grew up on the golf course”; his father, mother, and grandfather were all golfers. Steve’s early youth and teenage years spent at Edgewood Valley Country Club ignited his lifelong passion for the game of golf. As a teen, Steve worked as a caddy at Edgewood and caddied for his father Neil when he golfed there. Steve’s mother Laura was a club champion many years in a row. Steve attended and graduated from Lyons Township High School. He was a drummer in his high school band, Sha-Boom. They were a rock & roll cover band. Sha Na Na songs were part of their repertoire.

Steve attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and pursued a degree in industrial engineering. He was a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. During his time at university, Steve was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He battled the disease, missed a term of school, and ultimately graduated in 1979 with a degree in industrial engineering. Steve’s first job out of college was with Texas Instruments in Dallas, TX, where he started as an industrial engineer. While at Texas Instruments, Steve continued his pursuit of higher education, ultimately earning his master’s degree in business administration from Houston Baptist University in 1982. In 1984, Steve’s role within Texas Instruments transitioned away from engineering and into marketing management.

Steve met Patricia Gianelle at a dinner following a work meeting. The two were married two years later on September 1, 1984 at Southern Methodist Church in Dallas. They were blessed with a son, Chas, in 1987. The three remained in Dallas and Steve remained employed with Texas Instruments until 1989. In 1989, the young family relocated to Portland, OR where Steve went to work for BIT (Bipolar Integrated Technology) as a marketing manager. His time with BIT was brief and he went on to work for Lattice Semiconductor as a product marketing manager. In 1990, Steve and Pat were blessed with a daughter, Candace. Sadly, Candace died one week prior to her due date on May 9, 1990. In 1994, Steve and Pat were blessed with their second son, Zachary.

Steve was a driven, dedicated, and cherished member of Lattice Semiconductor and in 1996, he was promoted to director of product marketing. Most recently, he received the coveted Lattice Keystone Award.

Steve’s passion for golf endured throughout his life and his favorite Oregon golf spot was The Great Blue at Heron Lakes. He saw to it that Chas and Zachary both had golf lessons when they were boys. It has been said that Steve “golfed everywhere” and he played many courses in Oregon and Washington. For many years, Steve coordinated and lead the Annual Lattice golf tournament at the Quail Valley golf course.

Steve will be remembered as a loving husband and wonderful provider to his family. He was a very supportive and encouraging father to his sons Chas and Zachary. He was the committee chair of Zachary’s boy scouts troop 870, helping with fundraising and making sure Zachary stayed the course to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. Steve was committed to making sure his boys had rich experiences, “teaching moments”, and life lessons. He challenged them to think harder, work harder, challenge themselves, and ask the question “you know what you did yesterday, what are you doing today?” Steve was soft spoken, not necessarily the “life of the party” but was appreciated for his witty, dry humor.

Steve’s life was not without its struggles and challenges. He battled cancer as a college student and in May 2012, cancer came back into his life in the form of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma. Steve kept a positive attitude, fought as hard as he could, and continued working for Lattice up until his last days. He endured several surgeries, eventually made it to remission stage, but the cancer had little-by-little taken so much from him that he ultimately succumbed to the complications associated with the disease.

Steve was a loving son, brother, husband, father, uncle, co-worker, and friend, and he will be missed by all who knew and loved him.

Steve is predeceased by his parents Neil and Laura Stark; and his daughter, Candace Nicole.

Steve is survived by his loving wife of 31 years, Patricia; sons, Chas and Zachary; brother, Tim Stark; sisters, Jeanette Eckhardt and Linda Zarrella; nephews, Tommy Stark and Matt Butson; and niece, Christine Vance.

A funeral service will be held at Skyline Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home, 4101 NW Skyline Blvd., Portland OR, on Saturday, March 26th, 2016, at 1pm. Steve will be laid to rest in Skyline Memorial Gardens in the garden of the Last Supper.

Remembrances in lieu of flowers may be made to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Please visit the guestbook portion of this site and enter a special memory or message.

Arrangements under the direction of Skyline Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, Portland, OR.