OCEAN PARK – Stephen Spaulding Kafkas, Ph.D., 42, passed away on June 22, 2021 in Portland after a long battle with cancer.

Steve was born in Portland to Mark and Beverly Kafkas on March 16, 1979. After graduating from Gorham High School, he continued his education earning a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College (IL), a master’s degree from DePaul University, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Northern Illinois University.

He was an active member of the Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, Ill. His faith was an anchor and a life-giving hope and promise throughout his life. The fellowship of friends at church and the limitless and creative support of his teaching colleagues at Norton Creek sustained him through the toughest stretches of his cancer treatments.

Steve was a long-time and loyal Boston sports fan. He also had a deep love for a well-crafted fantasy novel and would gladly discuss the intricate details of the Cosmere in any of Brandon Sanderson’s works.

Steve loved his family. He was passionate about justice and the oppressed. He loved a good debate about ideas and beliefs that mattered. And he had a heart for kids, whether they were his niece and nephews, one of the hundreds of students he taught over the years, or really any kid he met. He was brilliant and gentle and courageous, and the hole his absence leaves is large.

Steve was preceded in death by Willis and Janet Spaulding (maternal grandparents) and William and Eloise Kafkas (paternal grandparents). He is survived by his parents, Mark and Beverly; siblings, Janet, Mark, and Elizabeth (husband Phillip); nephews and niece, Daniel, Lillian, and Oliver; and a huge family and community that loved him dearly.

Services will be held in Wheaton, Ill. at Church of the Resurrection on Saturday, July 10, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. CST and in Scarborough, Maine at the Second Parish Orthodox Presbyterian Church on Saturday, July 17, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. EST.

Arrangements entrusted to Hobbs Funeral Home, South Portland. Online condolences may be expressed at http://www.hobbsfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to one of the following organizations that Steve loved and whole-heartedly supported:

Church of the Resurrection

(www.churchrez.org) or:

World Relief

(www.worldrelief.org)

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