Stephen John Heller, 65, of Great Barrington

A memorial service will be held at a future date. Once it has been selected, an announcement will be made, and this obituary will be updated on Finnerty and Stevens Funeral Home’s website. All those interested are invited to join the family in celebrating Stephen Heller's life and impact.

Stephen John Heller was born to Julius and Helen Heller on December 7, 1957. He passed away on February 13, 2023 at 65 years of age. He was a deep-thinking, logical, and loving human being. Stephen’s quiet, intellectual nature was offset by his ability to catch you off guard with a sharp yet subtle joke and a smile that was five much. He is an irreplaceable keystone to his fiercely loving family.

Stephen’s life was multifaceted. The man oozed competence and talent—with seemingly zero effort—in a wide variety of skills and interests, such as carpentry, chemistry, computer network engineering, motorcycle maintenance, and generally all things mechanical. He was an accomplished cat whisperer, an Einstein doppelganger, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a brother, an uncle, and a friend.

On top of all that, he was a meticulously hardworking, dedicated individual who helped build the computer networking company Compuworks. He worked there as a senior network engineer for almost three decades. He was loved and respected by his coworkers and clients for his technical wizardry.

Stephen’s impact was always overwhelmingly open and honest, although perhaps hidden under his stoic demeanor; he also instilled in those around him (most of all his children) a passion for rebellion, adventure, and truth.

Stephen is survived by many who loved him as a father, friend, and colleague, including his siblings, Paul, Michael, and Elaine; his niece, Elizabeth; his nephews, Michael, Neil, Jeff, Andrew, and Daniel; his dear family friend, Donna; his grandchildren, Julius, Elena, and Karina; his wonderfully supportive surrogate children, Sarah, Stephen, Dylan, Jess, Hideki, Becky, and Tyler; and his three brilliantly rebellious children, Alexandra, Nicholas, and Madilyn. He also left his loving wife, friend, and partner of 42 years, Liliane, the only one whose fire matched his own; one mini cat; and a potato-head.

A memorial service will be held at a future date. Once it has been selected, an announcement will be made, and this obituary will be updated on Finnerty and Stevens Funeral Home’s website. All those interested are invited to join the family in celebrating Stephen Heller’s life and impact.

If you would like to send memories, prayers, thoughts, love, or gifts to the grieving family, or if you would like their correspondence, they are receiving these at P.O. Box 387, Housatonic, MA 01236 or 15 Cone Ave, Housatonic, MA 01236. The family would like to thank Sarah Metz-Murphy, daughter and friend, for composing this obituary.