Stephen Schein

Stephen Gerald Schein was born in Istanbul, Turkey on October 7, 1969, the son of Robert Louis and Elean Mae Schein. He spent the majority of his childhood and youth in Arlington, Virginia, where he graduated from the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program in 1988.  From there he attended James Madison University, earning a degree in International Business in 1993.  After college, he embarked on a series of long-term positions with various companies, much of his work involving international logistics and supply chain management.  Most recently, he served as Vice President with The Diplomat Group, in Annapolis, Maryland.

Steve enjoyed time in art galleries and museums, in addition to appreciating many types of music, both at home and at live venues.  He read history, theology, and fiction, taking delight in ideas, and kept up with the latest films.  He savored good meals.  A proud Gen X’er, he saw Duran Duran and Morrissey in concert multiple times, always with a friend in tow.  Forever a hipster, even after starting to go gray, he spent many hours searching for cool finds in second-hand clothing stores. 

Steve made himself at home in a number of places, finding or creating community wherever he lived, be it Boston, Atlanta, Richmond, Baltimore, Nashville, suburban Maryland, even Japan and Senegal. Bikes, motorcycles, and the riding of them were among his passions, as well as the beauty of the natural world. The ocean in particular brought him peace, either through sailing or from staring out from the deck of a beach house.  Compassionate and caring, Steve volunteered with local wildlife rescue organizations, and successfully advocated for vegetarian options at his college dining hall long before such a thing was a norm–an achievement that he remembered with pride.

Although raised in a family that was only nominally religious, Steve was baptized a Catholic in his early thirties.  He credited his conversion to the music he often heard emanating from a monastery in the Atlanta area.  While many interests in his life would come and go, the identity, meaning, and hope that Steve found in Catholicism was a constant. When visiting friends, he would search out and attend a local mass.  He went to confession regularly as well, including on the day before his passing. 

Steve is survived by his father Robert Schein, his brother Michael Schein and sister-in-law Jan Schein, his sister Melanie Schein Sanchez, and his beloved daughter, Mickey Schein.  Also by a circle of close friends whom he considered his chosen family: Brian Clarke, Hung Du, Jamie Harding, Jomo Mulholland, and Dale Smith.

A wake in Steve’s honor will be held from 6 to 8pm on Wednesday March 19 at Advent Funeral Home, in Falls Church.  On Thursday March 20 at 2pm, a graveside service will take place at Columbia Gardens Cemetery, in Arlington, with a reception following at Ruthie’s All Day, also in Arlington. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore.