Michael James Stefonick

Surrounded by the joy of family and loved ones, Dad peacefully went from his home, to his eternal Home and the immeasurable love of God! Devoted and ever so loving Dad to Amee and Ryan, beloved Grandpop and Great-Grandpop. Brother to Georgiana Werner. And forever grateful for our mom, Ruth Eileen. Our words can’t express how deeply dad cared for each of his family members, his friends and strangers he met at the intersections of life. In this moment, please allow Ryan and I to thank each of you for your kindness, love and care which filled his days with joy. Mike always started the conversation with “Hello Nice Person”, his motto to seek the good in everyone! Over the years dad would recall countless memories, detailing thrilling adventures, pioneering innovations, and heartfelt gratitude for his family and friends. Owner and builder of two highly successful Real Estate franchises: RE/MAX of SE Pennsylvania and RE/MAX of Delaware with 1800 sales associates, dad devoted himself to their success (and ours). As someone who has helped shape every aspect of our lives, we are forever thankful for the wisdom, character, dedication and compassion of our dad.

We are most grateful that on October 7, 2024 at 4:33 pm, Mike chose to trust in the LORD Jesus as his personal Savior. I was there! Dad’s “Yes!” resounded throughout heaven! I felt the river of LIFE flow from the Father to his prodigal son coming home! Dad’s faith and recognition of his need for a Savior was the most important decision of his life-time accomplishments! To every “Nice Person” reading this: Things here are temporal. Yet if we have an eternal mindset, we will also invest our life for the moment when we cross the finish line, and our greatest desire is to include as many people as we can. Dad came to know “Christ IS our life, and we live more fully with Him.

You may have lived a long life or barely at all, but for many people this life is all they think about. However there’s an eternity more! If you are someone seated at the bedside of a loved one who will soon be slipping into eternity please don’t simply comfort them by saying goodbye. If those you love most, do not yet know the gift of being brought into relationship with the father, please speak up. Sharing The Good News IS love. To receive the gift of eternal life, you must repent of your sins, and put on the Lord Jesus Christ, as you would put on a parachute - trusting in Him alone to save you. Pretend you are standing in the doorway of a plane - it’s a 10,000 foot drop and you have to jump. Your heart is thumping in your chest. Why? Because of fear. You know that the law of gravity will kill you when you jump. But someone offers you a parachute! The parachute is good news! You wouldn’t push it aside and trust that you could flap your arms fast enough to save you! The parachute is the only way to land safely. But you have to put it FULLY on! The knowledge that you have to jump should produce a healthy fear in you - this kind of fear is good because it leads to your life being saved. In the same way, the knowledge that someday you will get to the end of your life should create a fear that is your friend. Statistic show 10 out of 10 people die. Only Jesus can save you from death and hell. This means you must forsake the idea that your own good works are a means to enter into eternal life, but that you trust only in what Jesus has done for you. Jesus himself is the parachute. He can justify you, cleanse you, and give you the robe of righteousness. He can make you pure in heart by washing away your sins. Simply put Him on! Like you would the parachute!

Thank you to all the saints of God who prayed for dad over the years! Thank you Lord for hearing dad and never giving up on him. We are deeply grateful that God pursues us with His lavish love! We are here to tell you, you are already loved more than you can imagine. Nothing is more wonderful than a relationship with Him! Now, our dad is in glory seeing Jesus who has loved him with an everlasting, unrelenting, lavish love! We love you Dad! Enter, rejoice, and COME IN! Praise the Lord oh my soul and all that is within us praise His name!“ Precious in the sight of the LORD is the ‘homecoming’ of His saints” (Psalm 116:15).