Stephen Felix Fortuna

1922-2017

Stephen Felix Fortuna, charmer of old and young alike, lover of his wife’s cooking, lover of any¬one else’s cooking, World War II veteran and proud MSU Spar¬tan, died peacefully on Saturday, September 9th 2017 in Haslett, Michigan. It is our hope that the words that follow provide you with a small glimpse into the huge life of our beloved Stephen; our “Poppa”. More important¬ly, we hope these words serve as a reminder that we can all do better to be a bit more like Pop.

Stephen, son of Matthew and Helena Fortuna, was born Oct. 15, 1922 in Hamtramck, Michi-gan. He was patiently observant, hilariously witty and incredibly well read. It is up for debate if Pop was a man far ahead of his time or simply a man born blind to people’s differences. There was no one he respected and ap¬preciated more than his wife of 61 years, Joyce “Nanny” Fortu¬na. Pop loved Nan uncondition¬ally. To him, the sun rose and set on Nanny and what she said was the gospel. Poppa wore the pride he had in his two daugh¬ters, Denise (Fortuna) Clack and Darcie (Fortuna) Birkett on his sleeve for all to see. Togeth¬er, they gave him seven grand¬children to whom he passed on his love of reading, golfing, dancing and a good cocktail.

It is of our truest beliefs that our Poppa was one of the kindest, gentlest, purely genuine human beings ever to have lived. That is exactly what Pop did; he lived. He lived humbly and he loved self¬lessly, and he took in the bad and put it back into the world as good. Always and exclusively, good.

Because of that, while we are grateful and incredibly lucky that Pop lived a long, healthy life, it does not change the fact that when Pop left this world, the world became a bit less good. A bit less honest. A bit less gen¬uine. And so, to help fill the gap he left in the world and in our hearts, and to never stop hon¬oring Poppa’s special life, we will do better in our own lives. Because a world where every¬one is a bit more like Poppa is the world we want to live in.

Please join us at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, September 12th, 2017 for an outdoor memorial

ser¬vice and light fare at:

6748 English Oak Dr.

East Lansing, MI 48823

Arrangements under the direction of Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, Lansing, MI.