STAVRO, Stephen H. Of Lexington, MA passed away peaceably on Monday December 12, 2022 after a remarkably vigorous life at the age of 101.

The eldest child of Albanian immigrants Rako and Evanthia Stavro, Stephen was born in 1921 on the kitchen table of his parents' home in Jamaica Plain, MA. As a child, he remembered horse-drawn wagons delivering blocks of ice for the family icebox as well as lamplighters turning off gas streetlights at dawn. During the Great Depression he worked at the family's grocery store after school and he saw Babe Ruth hit a homerun for the Boston Braves. He went to Boston Latin School and was proud to be the first one in his family to attend a university, graduating from Boston College with both a B.S. and M.S. degree in Chemistry. He was immediately hired by Sylvania Electric and went to work on one of the government's radar guidance projects during World War II.

He was drawn to science throughout his life and earned a U.S. Patent in 1951 for an early design of electrodes while at Sylvania. In the late 1950s, he went to work for a startup microwave and electronics firm called MA/COM and in various executive posts helped it blossom into a Fortune 500 company during the economic boom along the Route 128 corridor in the Post-war period.

In 1949 he married Alyce Lazar Stavro, of Milton, MA and they were enchanted with each other for their 63 years of marriage. They moved to Lexington, MA and developed a circle of close friendships, many of which lasted for more than half a century. A hardworking family man, whose promises meant more than any legal contract could, he was an early advocate of a healthy diet and exercise. He eagerly did all the yardwork around his house well into his nineties. A talented photographer and an avid golfer, he was President of Nashawtuc Country Club in Concord, MA and was thrilled to once play a round of golf with Arnold Palmer. For nearly 25 years, he and Alyce were winter residents in Boynton Beach, FL at Quail Ridge Country Club and Indian Spring Country Club.

For the past seven years he was a resident at Brookhaven at Lexington, a retirement community, where he enjoyed another circle of friends.

Stephen was predeceased by his wife, Alyce, and by his brothers Theodore and Philip, and his sister Ruth.

Stephen is survived by his son Barry and his daughter-in-law Vani Stavro, of Cedar Park, TX, by his daughter Deborah Stavro Lapides and son-in-law Murray Lapides, of Lexington, MA. Stephen is also survived by grandson Jann Stavro and his wife Sharon Doyle, of Long Island, and granddaughter Alexandra Lapides, of Santa Cruz, CA. Both grandchildren shared Stephen's interest in science and both pursued graduate degrees in the sciences.

Funeral services will be private.

Expressions of sympathy may be made in Stephen Stavro's memory to Boston College,

Office of University Advancement, Cardigan Alumni Center, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467; or at www.bc.edu.