Steven Grunsfeld

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Steven Grunsfeld, 73, of Westerleigh, a retired attorney whose passion in life was his family, followed by Wagner College athletics, died Friday in Northern Westchester Hospital, Mount Kisco, N.Y.

Born and raised on Manhattan's Upper West Side, he graduated from Stuyvesant High School in his native borough.

Mr. Grunsfeld earned his undergraduate degree from Wagner College, Grymes Hill, and received his juris doctor from New York Law School, Manhattan.

He and Joan Mahoney met when they were students at Wagner, and the couple fell in love and wed in June 1967. They lived in Silver Lake before settling in Westerleigh in 1973.

Mr. Grunsfeld served in the U.S. Army Reserve in the early 1960s.

An attorney, he was a vice president, secetary and the general counsel for the Seaboard Surety Co., Bedminster, N.J. He retired in 1999.

Mr. Grunsfeld cherished his family and most loved being with his children and grandchildren.

He also was an avid, die-hard Wagner College sports fan, especially football and basketball, his family said, and had been a past president of the Touchdown Club.

"He had a presence that was larger than life, not only because of his physical stature, but because he always carried himself with steadfast integrity and self-assurance. Everyone who knew him looked up to him," said his daughter, Tracy Grunsfeld.

Joan, Mr. Grunsfeld's wife of 32 years, died in 1999.

Surviving, along with his daughter, Tracy, are his sons, Kurt and Christopher; his daughter, Stephanie Assante; his sister, Karen Lyford, and eight grandchildren.

The Casey Funeral Home, Castleton Corners, is handling arrangements, including cremation and burial of ashes in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Seahawk Club of Wagner College in memory of Steven Grunsfeld '62.

Please send gifts to Wagner College, Office of Institutional Advancement, attention Kristen Krista, One Campus Road, Staten Island, NY 10301 or go to Wagner.edu/give and select Seahawk Club.