Steven P. Mazurek

Steven Paul Mazurek, age 75, passed away peacefully on November 2, 2024, in Lake Barrington, Illinois. He was born on July 29, 1949, in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Paul and Beulah (Phillips) Mazurek, the oldest of four children. His parents predeceased him. He is survived by his wife, Diane (Danguole Jonusas), of 54 years; his three sisters; cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Steven attended Grand Rapids’ Sibley and Union High schools, graduating in 1967. He went on to Michigan State University where he graduated with B.S. in Physics and a teaching certification. During his life he also attended professional education courses at Duke and Carnegie-Mellon Universities. After retiring, Steven pursued a music degree at William Rainey Harper College, graduating with an A.F.A. specializing in accordion.

Steven’s career began as soon as he was able to pick up a snow shovel and go door-to-door shoveling sidewalks for $.25. Later he worked at Hoffman’s Drugstore as a clerk and soda-jerk. Then at Grant’s Bookstore, cleaning and selling school textbooks. He also spent time at Woolworth’s Five and Dime taking inventory, clerking in the Music Department, and doing general stock management. 

While attending M.S.U., Steven held jobs working in the Wilson Hall dormitory maintenance department, at Michigan Bell Telephone as a Switch-room Helper, and for the City of Grand Rapids, washing and painting traffic signals.

After graduating from M.S.U. in 1971, Steven worked, briefly, for the Plainwell School District as a Physics and Physical Sciences Teacher, before returning to Michigan Bell for more lucrative employment.

Steven’s time in the telecommunications industry spanned 25 years, beginning with Michigan Bell as a Switch-room Helper, and a Switchman in step-by-step, electronic and digital switching systems. He was transferred to Western Electric in 1976, to develop and deliver training on electronic switching systems and digital processors. He returned to Michigan Bell in 1980, to work in tier-two support for switching systems before moving to software development for Operational Switching Support Systems. When the Bell System was divested, Steven was transferred to work at Ameritech in Schaumburg, Illinois, where he specialized in Operations Management and new Operations Technologies. He eventually moved to the applied research group before leaving in 1994.

Steven was hired by a start-up company in California to head the Operations Support group for its product. As with many start-ups, it did not last long. He then went to Candle, where he worked as a system sales engineer and in software development. Eventually, Steven entered the consulting realm, working for companies like DMR, Fujitsu, NextGen, and Black Car Associates.

After retirement, he picked up his accordion again and particularly enjoyed teaching, arranging music for solos and ensembles, and participating in accordion orchestras. Music was always very important to him and was further enhanced by his attendance at Interlochen Arts Camp, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and participation in the Russian Choir at M.S.U.

Steven was a lifelong learner, curious about everything, from restoring a 1959 MGA automobile, to solving problems during his career and later in the technology world. He was always reading technical documents and taking online seminars. And enjoying his favorite Sci-Fi novels.

He also had a passion for travel, learning about new cultures, and experiencing different points of view. He particularly enjoyed a Windjammer Cruise in the British Virgin Islands, a World Cruise which covered 28 countries and 6 continents, and a recent visit to Lithuania to enjoy and learn about his wife, Diane’s culture and especially to visit her newfound family there. 

Services at a later time will be private.