Stephen J. Pribula, 84, of Middletown, New Jersey, passed away on May 8th, 2026, three days before he would have turned eighty-five.
He came into the world on Mother's Day, 1941. His mother called him the best gift she could have hoped for, and he spent the rest of his life fulfilling her belief.
Stephen was the Valedictorian of Delbarton School’s Class of 1959. He would go on to earn his degree from Princeton University in 1963, with a special certificate from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs; and his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1966, where he was named a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. After Columbia he went directly into the United States Air Force, serving from 1966 to 1972 as a Titan II missile officer at McConnell Air Force Base, and a Judge Advocate at Torregon in Spain. During his time as Liaison Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, he held the historic distinction as one of the last American officers remaining after the base closure. At the end of his service term, he was appointed as a military judge and obtained the rank of Captain.




