Stephen Marc Slepin

Stephen Marc Slepin, 86, died on October 19th in Lakeland, FL, after complications from a stroke he had suffered two weeks prior. Steve was born November 4th, 1937, in Jersey City, NJ, to Matthew and Eleanor Slepin. His family moved to Coral Gables, FL when he was eight years old. He graduated from the University of Miami, where he majored in Philosophy and Russian/Soviet Studies, before earning a JD. Steve briefly taught philosophy at the University of Miami before entering into public service and practicing law. He was particularly interested in issues of constitutional law, writing numerous articles on the subject, and he argued several cases before both the Florida and United States Supreme Courts. His many positions in government service included Assistant Attorney General for the state of Florida; Special Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Supreme Court of Appeals; Executive Assistant to the President of Florida State University; Chairman of the Florida Industrial Relations Commission; and first Chief Judge of the Industrial Relations Appellate Court. However, it was as a private attorney in Tallahassee that he spent the majority of his career. “I didn’t like not being able to take sides,” he’d explain when asked why he stepped down from the bench. Steve was always active in his community and passionate about political discourse. From 1955–1967, he served as the co-producer and co-host of the nation’s first public affairs call-in radio program, “The Alan Courtney Open Phone Forum.” He was deeply involved in the Capital Tiger Bay Club, a non-partisan forum created to foster political discussion and served as president of that group from 1982–1984. He was a 33rd Degree Mason in the Scottish Rite and a member of J. Edwin Larson Lodge No. 361, F.& A.M. Steve was brilliant and witty, with a sly sense of humor. He always told his sons he would have liked to be a spy. He could play a Cole Porter song on the piano, which he’d played since he was a child, and throw in a Goucho Marx line for good measure. He held a passion for music his entire life, which occasionally got him in trouble, such as when he conducted from the audience at a symphony performance by noted composer Carl Ruggles. Carl was not amused, and Steve learned to sit on his hands at later performances but was always able to light up any room in which he appeared. Steve is survived by his wife, Shirlee Bowne; his two sons, Matthew (and his wife, Deborah) and Joshua (and his wife, Lisa); his stepson, Greg Bowne (and his wife, Sharon Taylor); his grandchildren, Ada, Harrison, and Marie; and his sister, Susan Shwartz, and her family (David, Stephanie, and Scott), all of whom keep him in their memories. A memorial service will be held at 2:00PM on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at Bevis Funeral Home, 200 John Knox Road in Tallahassee. Rocky Bevis of Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2193 or www.bevisfh.com) is assisting the family with their arrangements.

Tributes

Stephen Marc Slepin

November 3, 1937 - October 19, 2024