Stefan Maca

Stefan Stanislaw Maca was born on May 11th, 1949, and passed away peacefully on December 19th, 2023.

Stefan lived a life filled with love, joy, and pride, and always with his family. He is survived by his loving wife of 53 years, Daniella (nee Dubiel); daughter Suzia and partner Mark Wedow, and her children: Ela Koivun and husband Nash Miller; Julia Koivun and partner Eli Schaefer; Steve Koivun and partner Hannah Kilpatrick; son Steve and wife Karen (nee Caluwe), and their children: Maddie; Stevie; Lily; Abby; and Joey. He also leaves behind sister Krys and husband Stan Hurd; god-daughter Krystyna Anna, husband Joe Geneza, and their daughter Stella; nephew Mike Posvenski, partner Sonia, and their son Ronin; sister-in-law Diane (nee Strusinski) Maca; god-daughter Janette (nee Maca), husband Paul Kuhn, and their daughter Payton; niece Michelle (nee Maca), husband Chris Candelaria, and children: Alex and Lauren Grygo, Mia, Nicole, and Allison; cousin Jane Juszczyk; sister-in-law by marriage Barbara (nee Dubiel) Jankowski and her three sons and families: Adam, Corinne, and Meghan; Stevie and Denise; and Tadzio; and nephew by marriage Jason Dubiel. His family extends far beyond these blood relations and includes many lifelong friends who became family, dear friends, neighbors, and many relations worldwide.

He is preceded in death by: his father Stanislaw Maca (passed Jan 1991), mother Helena (nee Juszczyk) Maca (passed Apr 2017); brother Bruno Maca (passed July 2014); brother Bogdan Maca (passed Dec 2018); and son-in-law Jon Koivun (passed March 2019).

Stefan was born in Olsztyn, Poland, and emigrated to America in 1962 where his family settled in Chicago. He attended Lane Tech High School. He was drafted to the Army in 1972 and served at Fort Carson in Colorado. He spent over four decades making a career as a tool and die mechanic and engineer, working for E.W. Lancaster until his bypass in 2003; he then partnered with Jerry Schmidt at BraMic Industries, from where he retired in 2015.

Family was always a priority for Stefan, and he and Daniella spent much of their free time with their children and grandchildren, doing things near and far from home, including going on many family vacations. Stefan was active all his life and loved the outdoors: fishing, hunting, skiing, and soccer, as well as golfing, motorcycling, and cruising in his Corvette, which he enjoyed even through Autumn 2023.

After having battled and survived leukemia as well as a quintuple bypass, Stefan received unexpected news just before Thanksgiving 2023: advanced stage 4 pancreatic cancer that metastasized to his liver. Before deciding if he would pursue cancer treatments, he was blindsided by a series of strokes. After a short time in rehab, Stefan made the choice to forego cancer treatments. He made the decision to go back home on hospice care for the management of his extreme pain. He passed peacefully surrounded by his wife, children, and grandchildren, who spent his last days with him.

Wake and visitation will be held on Wednesday, December 27th, 3:00pm - 9:00pm, at Countryside Funeral Home, located at 950 S Bartlett Rd in Bartlett. After brief chapel prayers at 9:15am at the funeral home the following morning, the funeral mass will be held at 10:00am, Thursday, December 28th, at St. Peter Damian Catholic Church at 131 S Cress Ave in Bartlett. Following the mass, Stefan will be interred at Assumption Catholic Cemetery, located at 1S510 Winfield Road in Wheaton, with a graveside service. Immediately following the burial, the family invites you to join them for a funeral luncheon where we can reminisce and share our memories of all the great times we shared with Stefan over the years. Info www.countrysidefuneralhomes.com or (630)289-7575.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made: to family, to further the college educations of his grandchildren; to the American Cancer Society, in his name; or, to Rolling Thunder Charities, Inc. Chapter 2-Illinois, a non-profit motorcycle club that honors US Veterans which Stefan was proud to support.