Stephen "Steve" Pacuska was born in Boston, MA, 74 years ago to Chester and Edna (nee Yachimski).  Some years later he greeted the arrival of his brother Donald with great enthusiasm.

Steve was a great explorer of South Boston and known to many, so much so that the curious reader may wonder if the Pacuska Traffic Circle is inspired by his exploits – alas dear friends, it is in fact the result of yet another Pacuska, one who may have inspired his nephew to traverse the world.

It all began with a fascination for steam engines which led him to the engineering program at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, thence around the world to over 80 countries, back and forth across the equator, and several circumnavigations. His first tour was with the US Merchant Marine – in no less exciting a location than Vietnam.  Steve later spearheaded a successful effort to get merchant mariners recognized for their service in Vietnam.  He was also a Reserve Naval officer attached to the Seabees.

It was near the end of his studies at Mass Maritime that he was fortuitously introduced by his best friend to the fabulous woman that became his wife, Peggy Pacuska.  His brother, also a student, agreed that the match would civilize his brother in no end of ways and the two were finally married in April 1971 in Falmouth, MA, after a freak spring snow storm.  An event which was to set a stage for the rest of their lives together.

How so you ask?  Tell me more you demand?  Oh dear reader, no sooner did the two marry than the Great Goat Debate began.  On their honeymoon in Barbados, Steve was compelled to pay reparations to a local farmer for the death of a goat.  Whether it was Steve's wheel of the scooter or Peggy's became a bone of contention for over 50 years.  Rental transportation and free range animals remained an unfortunate theme in Steve and Peggy's vacations.

After a tour at sea or two, Steve met the arrival of his daughter Alison and the storm continued– forever to be described as "refusing to arrive, then arriving in the car en route" Steve fondly recalled how her head fit "in the palm of his hand" to everyone who would listen.  Another tour or two at sea later and he greeted his son Jeffrey, a decidedly unbalanced and uncoordinated child in whom he nonetheless took great joy.

The family recalls with mixed feelings their father's days "on the ship" – adventures on the high seas, exciting foreign ports, fun souvenirs, but what they loved most was the mail which always included cartoons.  Steve was a talented cartoonist and absolutely everything was fair game from awkward engine room events, to port of call exploits, and on one particular occasion, the tale of a dorm room squirrel trap for a niece and a cartoon depiction of the benefit of beer drinking as a foil for the freshman 15 (dear reader – this was a HORRIBLE LIE).

When he was home, Steve was an avid student of the outdoors.  Taking first his children, then his nieces and nephews (of which they are a great number), into all manner of outdoors trouble; the recipe for "camp chow" and "bananas flambe" will forever go down in (in)famy.  He even became a certified Maine state Guide.  Steve loved going "hunting".  He never remembered to load the gun and never got a deer – except for one very memorable outing where upon he returned home and proudly proclaimed "I got a deer!"  So shocked was the family that when he described coming across a deer on a lawn on the side of a road, that it took them all several moments to register that what he delivered was not, in fact, a plastic lawn ornament but an actual deer for the freezer.

Steve had a proclivity for creative exploration: spy hunts in apple orchards, tracking in the woods, you name it, he could make the most banal get together a mysterious event.  Some of those nieces and nephews might wonder if perhaps Uncle Steve was some sort of International Man of Mystery, known by some as Uncle Guido, by others as 00Steve, he kept his true nature quiet with a secretive smirk.  Is it true you ask?  Was he a spy?  Dear reader: we will never tell!

Friends will fondly recall household projects and whale watching adventures filled with laughter as they exchanged barbs and jests.  That is, when Steve wasn't telling stories that wandered so far afield they forgot where the tale began or wondered if he had a point at all.  Given its requirement for expediency, Pictionary was not Steve's most favorite game.

Retiring in 2013 as a Commander USMM, Captain USN (Res), having never run a ship aground, Steve continued teaching merchant engineers about marine diesel engines and gas at the American Marine Officers school in Dania Beach, FL off and on until his final retirement in 2021.  He loved nothing more than explaining the inner workings and nuances of a marine diesel engine to the occasionally glazed audience of anyone who asked – or who might stumble into one of his projects and was asked to hold a flashlight "right *here*".

In retirement his Honey Do list – at last being fulfilled after 30 years at sea, much to Peggy's eternal delight and occasional groans – occupied his time and creative endeavors.  His nature led him to exploring tanning, snowshoe making, beekeeping, and all manner of archaic skills.

The reader will be saddened to learn that this great adventure ended in at 3pm (give or take, the deer keep their secrets) on the afternoon of October 1, 2021.

A memorial service for friends and family will take place at the Sugar Hill Community Church in Sugar Hill NH on the afternoon of November 6, 2021.  Steve may have liked flowers in a garden, but what he really enjoyed was sharing his wilderness knowledge with everyone, whether they wanted it or not, so a scholarship is being established in his name to assist students and programs at the Roots School in Corinth VT.  Donations can be made to: https://gofund.me/cfabda49

May his memory be an inspiration to us all.