Stephen Halley
Steve possessed a wry wit, a sharp mind and a kind spirit. He was deeply committed to a spiritually Jewish life, to his family, friends, and community. He loved to sing loudly, play mandolin and whistle a tune. He was Mr. Google for all who wanted to know something about anything; he had an incredible understanding of science, math, technology and world affairs, among other subjects. Steve was Mr. Fixit to all who needed a repaired door, window, cabinet, disposal, washer or whatever else might need fixing in a house. He spent many hours gardening and loved to pour through seed catalogs and visit out-of-the way garden shops. He loved to travel the world and also just as happy to wander the aisles of Home Depot and used book shops.
Steve served as the Head of the Technology Marketing Support Center over the course of his 30 year career at IBM. Steve went on to follow other pursuits from co-founding the Mt. Elmore Institute consulting firm that worked to educate around discrimination in the workplaces and working for the Hiller Group, an executive search insurance firm. A member of more boards than can be listed, Steve rolled up his sleeves and served his synagogue, town and the general community whenever he could. He served as Temple President for Ohavi Zedek for multiple terms and as Hillel Director at UVM.
After the sudden death of Hasse, Steve inspired all those around him with his ability to face this difficult challenge with grace and courage. He remained a stalwart support to his children, connected with his life-long friends, the warm Woodstock community and began to make new connections and follow new interests. He took up the mandolin, traveled and eventually fell in love with a fabulous woman from Hanover, MA. Joan became Steve's soul-mate and fiancee. The two forged a beautiful bond which, we believe, helped Steve face his cancer with optimism. He often spoke about how lucky he was to have found Joan.
800 thoughts
Sometime after 2009 Steve began writing down "800 Thoughts." He had collected much wisdom over the years; he decided to write down the stories he used to share to illustrate a message he believed others could learn from. He didn't make it to 800 thoughts, but here is a sampling of the writing we found in his notebook.