Stephen Curtis Carlson, age 70, died September 21, 2021, after a lengthy battle with progressive supranuclear palsy.

Steve was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He grew up in the city and the suburb of Edina until his family moved to Lake Forest, Illinois in his sophomore year of high school. After graduating from Lake Forest High School, he attended Princeton University where he met his wife, Patricia, through the Whig-Cliosophic Society, a student debate organization. He graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton in 1973. He credited his high school teachers and college professors with igniting his lifelong interests in Ancient Greece, Shakespeare, and poetry.

After graduating from Yale Law School in 1976, Steve served as a law clerk to Justice James C. Otis of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He then built his career in Chicago at Sidley Austin LLP, where he practiced for nearly 40 years, becoming partner in 1983. Steve was particularly beloved as a mentor to junior associates; he took the time to teach them trial skills, and trusted them to do important work.

While he loved his work, Steve found his greatest joy in his family. He and Patricia settled in Dearborn Park in 1980, where they raised their three daughters. In his words, he "lived to take them on vacation and to show them exciting things."

He also greatly valued his personal and professional communities. Steve was proud of his role in the Dearborn Park neighborhood, and of his involvement in Legal Club of Chicago as Secretary-treasurer, Vice President, and as a board member, and in the Lawyers Club of Chicago as President, Vice President, and a board member. He especially enjoyed serving as President and a board member for the Nordic Law Club of Chicago for a number of years. Following his retirement from Sidley Austin, he worked for a time as a volunteer at the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

He believed profoundly in what he regarded as eternal virtues, chief amongst them fighting for what you believe is right in the face of adversity. Deeply philosophical and reflective, Steve once wrote, "If we can make life better for others, that is really probably all we accomplish and is more than enough. If you have succeeded in making life better for anyone else because you were here, then you have lived a good life." Steve lived a good life.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Curtis H. Carlson and Edna Mae Pfunder Carlson. Steve is survived by his wife, Patricia, daughters Elizabeth (Mark) Wolicki, Susan (Robert Demke), and Julie (Matt Nedostup), grandchildren Henry, Ryan, and Audrey Wolicki and Reid Carlson Demke, as well as siblings Melanie (Robert) Day, Sue, and Richard (Martha).

Visitation Friday, October 1, 2021 from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the 10:30 a.m. Funeral Mass at Old St. Patrick's Church, 700 West Adams Street, Chicago, Illinois 60661. A live stream of the Funeral Mass will be available at the following link: https://livestream.com/oldstpats/stephenccarlsonfuneralmass . Interment Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to support the Other Movement Disorders Research and Programs Fund at Rush University Medical Center. Please send memorial checks, made out to "Rush University Medical Center" to Rush Office of Philanthropy, 28057 Network Place, Chicago, IL 60673-1280 or visit http://rush.convio.net/SCarlson .

For further information please call 312-421-0936.