Stephen Andrew Mazurak

Stephen Andrew Mazurak, 77, passed away surrounded by family on January 29, 2022. Born in Berkeley, California, Steve was the son of Andrew and Mabel Logan Mazurak. Steve was raised in Lincoln, Nebraska where his father served at a Professor of Agronomy at the University of Nebraska and his mother worked in social services.

Steve is survived by his beloved wife Cynthia Zane and happily blended family. Children: Cassandra Ingberg (Scott); Greg Mazurak (Megan); Srikant Rao (Amy Harrison); Jaidave Rao (Cindy Conn); and Ravi Rao (Amber): Twelve grandchildren including Daniel, Brian, and Stephanie Ingberg; Logan, Madelyn, Beckett and Griffin Mazurak; Kiran, Sara, Deven, George, and Natalie Rao.

He is also survived by his brothers Terry (Kristina) and William (Barbara) and his sister-in-law Elizabeth. Steve was preceded in death by his parents and brother Peter.

After graduating from Lincoln High School, Steve completed his B.A. degree at the University of Nebraska with Distinction, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa (1967). During his undergraduate years, Steve worked at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plant in Lincoln where he initially developed his deep interest in labor and employment law.  He continued his education at the School of Law at the University of Nebraska earning his JD as the class Valedictorian and was inducted into the Order of the Coif in 1970. During Law School, he served as the Editor of the Law Review and on the National Moot Court Team.

After graduation, Steve began practicing as an associate at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison (San Francisco, 1970-1977) and later as a partner at Rexon & Mazurak (Los Angeles, 1977-1980).

In 1980, following the academic pathway forged by his father, Steve joined the faculty at the University of Detroit where he taught Contracts and Labor Law. He served as Acting Dean in 1982-83 and as Dean from 1996-2002. During his academic career, Mazurak also served as a visiting professor at the University of Maribor (Slovenia, 1993) and the University of Nebraska in 2009. Steve retired from the University of Detroit Mercy in 2015.

Mazurak was a member of the State Bars of Nebraska, California, and Michigan. He actively participated in the Michigan Bar Section on Labor and Employment Law as well as the American Bar Association where he served as Secretary of the Labor and Employment Section and as the Public Co-Chair of Committee on Employees’ Rights and Responsibilities in the Work Place. Steve was a member of the Labor Arbitration Panel for the American Arbitration Association and served on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Mazurak authored numerous articles and gave scholarly presentations at bar associations and professional organizations.

In a Message from the Dean in the UDM Docket Mazurak stated, “I do know that the most compelling attractions of a legal career for me have always been the continual learning process and the association with so many individuals of exceptional character and capability. The learning process includes not only the substance of the law, that seamless web of which we learn in law school, but also the concepts of civility, honesty, and integrity” (1998). Steve will forever be remembered by his family, colleagues, and friends as a brilliant, ethical, compassionate, and caring gentleman whom we were privileged to love.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Detroit on June 25th at St. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church at 1:00PM with a reception to follow in the UDM law school atrium.

 Memorial contributions may be made to the Stephen A. Mazurak Endowed Scholarship at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, 651 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, MI 48226 or the University of Nebraska Foundation, P.O. Box 82555, Lincoln NE 68501-2555. Please make checks payable to the NU Foundation and include on the memo line or on an enclosed note that the gift is in memory of Stephen Mazurak. Gifts may be made online at www.nufoundation.org/memorialgift.

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