Steven Richard Green passed away peacefully on the morning of July 7th, 2026, in his Tarpon Springs, Florida home, with the sun rising and an exalted Gulf cross breeze rolling through. Born in Chicago in 1958, ‘Steve’ had decided many years earlier to reside permanently in Florida’s west coast, like so many of his family before him. One of four children to Richard Dwyer Green and Cynthia Evelyn Kuecker, he grew up alongside his three wonderful sisters—Sherri, Shirl, and Janet.
Always on the move, from the Midwest to the East Coast, the Green clan lived in a number of places, but Steve always considered Winnetka, IL—of Ferris Bueller fame—his childhood home. As a varsity athlete, he played a variety of sports (baseball, football, and wrestling), helping to keep him grounded. However, between the pranks (ask about ‘Aping’) and swiping Mr. Skalla's weekly beer delivery, Steve’s life and his myriad of friends at New Trier East High School would become legend.
Graduating NTE in 1977, Steve hit the old Route 66 to Los Angeles to begin college. After briefly parting with his tuition check during a detour in Las Vegas (soon recouped by winning an Elvis trivia contest at a Jack-in-the-Box), he eventually enrolled at UCLA, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1982. Much of that period is lost to time, but it is said that the Post Office is still missing a row of mailboxes from Wilshire Blvd.
After college, Steve returned to Chicago, working as a financier at several prestigious banks and family offices. There he met and married Catherine O’Connell in 1987, with whom he had 3 boys: Neil (Anna), Brendan (Jenni, sons Thomas & Michael), and Gavin (Anna). Despite eventually separating from Catherine, Steve’s deep commitment to his family was always on full display, and he never lived more than a bike ride away. The family eventually settled in his beloved village of Winnetka, where, to his great pride, all three of his sons graduated from New Trier.
Steve was known for many things, chief among them positivity, hard work, and affability. He loved a bold California red (only after sundown), classic rock, and travel (which he instilled in his kids by dragging them all over the world). Most importantly, he never let the truth get in the way of a great story.
In his final years, he started what will likely be his enduring legacy: co-founding the Alliance Reentry Centers, Inc. which provides temporary housing, jobs, food, transportation, and counseling to hundreds of people recently released from incarceration in the Southeastern United States. With the help of Lisa Weiss, his loving partner of 9 years, and their colleagues, Steve’s dogged determination and eye for opportunity built the enterprise into what it is today.
He is survived by Lisa, his three sons, two grandsons, and two sisters, who will miss his eternal optimism. His impact on the world will endure in the lives that he touched, and in the laughter, he brought—intentional or otherwise—to all those around him. He will rest in peace with his heavenly family off the coast of Anna Maria, Florida.
For memorial and celebration of life information for Steven, please contact the family.
Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory,43rd Street Chapel, 604 43rd Street West, Bradenton, FL 34209, is in charge of arrangements.
