Stephen Michael Scalzo, 73, of Park Forest, Illinois, passed away suddenly on Wednesday, November 16, 2016, in the arms of his wife, Kimberly. He was preceded by his parents, Silvio M. and Jerry V. Scalzo, and is directly survived by his wife, daughter Emily, sons David and Michael, daughter-in-law Licun, grandson Ciro, estranged sister Emilie Annette, and nieces Michelle and Kristi. His extended family, friends, and colleagues number in the hundreds. He was an animal lover, and many of Stephen’s pet companions were rescues, including the Chihuahua he left behind, Chiquita, her daughter Spot, and his cats, Chessie and Panama—fittingly named after railways.
A native of Peoria, Illinois, Stephen was an alumnus of Bradley University and worked many years for various railways, most recently Metra in Chicago. Fittingly, he passed in Metra’s Millennium Station on his way to work at a job he loved. He was an avid rail fan and belonged to the CERA and was an Illinois Railway Museum member since the 1960s. He attended monthly CERA meetings in the Loop, and often took Saturdays out to go to Union, Illinois to enjoy the exhibits and ride the trains at the museum. His obsession was electric streetcars and trolleys. He was a cartographer whose maps were published in numerous CERA publications, and his articles about railways were published in a variety of train magazines.
Although he grew up listening to the St. Louis Cardinals on the radio, he grew to love the Cubs after moving to Chicago in the 1960s and enjoyed attending games at Wrigley with his children—especially when the Cardinals were in town. He celebrated the 2016 Cubs World Series win with joy and was looking forward to next year.
A quiet man, he was known for a dry sense of humor and had a mischievous streak, occasionally playing pranks when his family least expected them—though he never could hold back a wicked little grin when he was playing them. He was generous, loving, and hard-working. He will be greatly missed by many.
Stephen Scalzo's life was celebrated in an informal ceremony at Skyline Memorial Park’s chapel at 10am, Wednesday, November 23, 2016. He wished that in lieu of flowers, donations in his memory be sent to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois, where he spent many happy days.
