Rocky Hill Obituary: Steven Sternberg, 70

Steven A. Sternberg, 70, of Manchester, died peacefully on Saturday, May 14, 2016 at Riverside Health Care in East Hartford.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, he was the son of the late Charles H. and Sylvia J. (Snyder) Sternberg. Steven served in the U.S. Navy from 1965-1969. He was given a medical retirement due to injuries received in Vietnam in 1968. He used to say, that to the best of his knowledge, he was the only person to have been shot down in the Vietnam War twice in less than 9 months.

Steven was a graduate of the world-famous Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA, with a Bachelor of Professional Photography (BPA) in 1972. Upon graduation he went to work with the Veterans Administration in Omaha, NE., as a Bio-Medical Photographer. In 1974 he was transferred to Gainesville, FL. Steven moved from Gainesville, FL., where he was a senior Bio-Medical Photographer, to Rocky Hill, in 1975 and became the Chief of the Medical Media Department at the Newington V.A. Hospital. In 1978 he left the V.A. and started a second career in real estate with the Robert Barrows Real Estate Company, working up to become a real estate broker.

In 1981 he started Steven A. Sternberg Associates, specializing in National real estate brokerage and the development of small commercial properties. In 1989 he started a second company, The Printed Word, which brought together his love for computers and design.

He was a member of Temple Beth Hillel in South Windsor. Steven held many positions at the Temple. He started the Chesed Committee and called all the members of the congregation on their birthdays and anniversaries. He also started the Temples Social Action Committee. After Rabbi Jeff Glickman's mission to Ethiopia, which was sponsored by the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry (NACOEJ), Steven helped raise funds to feed over 1200 starving Ethiopian children. For this effort he was presented with a special handmade tallis and tallis bag made by the Ethiopian artisans in Gondar, Ethiopia.

When the congregation moved into their present home on Baker Lane in South Windsor he and his former wife Darlene would host a once a month program - "Lunch with the Rabbi". Steven would make a BIG pot of soup or stew. He always made sure there were lots of leftovers which he would freeze and members of the congregation could stop by and take a container or two or three and have a meal. In 2006 Steven was elected President of the Temple and started the Temple's Endowment with the Jewish Community Foundation to help future generations of Temple members. Steven was a life member of Hadassah.

Steven, as his friends knew, lived for his grandchildren, William (Billy Bob) and Brooke (Babsie Blue) who he took care of during the day for many years. Steven also loved the newest additions to the family, Zachary and Makayla Smith. Steven is also survived by his former wife, Darlene Sternberg of Vernon; two step-children, Jason Smith and his wife Jill of South Windsor and Nikki Burinskas of Vernon; his sister, Maralyn Steeg and her husband Dr. Frank Steeg of White Plains, NY; a nephew, Jason Steeg and his wife Stacey of Thornwood, NY, their children Lindsey and Ryan, and a niece, Deborah Steeg of New York City.

A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, 11 a.m., at Temple Beth Hillel, 20 Baker Lane in South Windsor. Interment will follow at the Beth Olam Cemetery in the Temple Beth Hillel section in South Windsor.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in his memory to the Temple Beth Hillel Endowment Fund, c/o Temple Beth Hillel, 20 Baker Lane, South Windsor, CT 06074 and/or the Jewish Community Foundation, 333 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford, CT 06117, in his name for the Temple Beth Hillel, South Windsor Endowment Fund.

Samsel & Carmon Funeral Home in South Windsor has care of the arrangements. Please visit us at www.carmonfuneralhome.com for online condolences.