Stephen J. Pribula ’63

Steve died May 8, 2026. 

He came to the class from Delbarton School. A member of the Woodrow Wilson School, he took his meals at Court Club and worked for four years at WPRB, holding several top posts  

Steve earned a law degree from Columbia in 1966 and went directly into the Air Force, serving from 1966 to 1972. At the end of his service, he was appointed a military judge and obtained the rank of captain. 

Steve was admitted to the bar in New York in 1967 and in New Jersey in 1979. In 1980, he established his own practice in Chatham, specializing for nearly three decades in real property, trusts, and estates. He became a fixture in the community. He served as borough councilman, led the Chatham Chamber of Commerce, wrote a weekly legal column, and served on Chatham United Way and the Fish and Game Association. His name was on a sign on Main Street in the same location where his parents had once run a grocery store for 20 years. 

For years, Steve was Santa Claus to the children of Chatham. He painted, gardened, golfed, wrote fiction, and researched and wrote a full history of his family.  

Steve was married to Roberta Retana from 1967 until her death in 1992. They had three children. In 1993, he wed Laurie Savage and adopted her three children.  

In addition to Laurie, Steve is survived by her children, Adam, Tricia, and Ted; three children from his first marriage: Benjamin, Anastasia, and Alexander; and 13 grandchildren.