Stephen P. Deminsky Final

Stephen P. Deminsky, an animated sports fan, matchless pingpong player and expert in the kitchen who enjoyed traveling and spending time outdoors, died Sunday afternoon at his home in Sun Prairie. He was 53.

Deminsky was born in Chippewa Falls on Dec. 10, 1951. He was raised in New Auburn, and was the fourth of six children born to Norman and Jean Deminsky. As a child, Deminsky was constantly tempted by his curiosity. He was always taking risks, usually from the tops of trees, which quite often left him with a broken bone or two. During high school, Deminsky was very athletic and participated in activities such as football, track, basketball and golf. Due to the death of his father in 1965, Deminsky found it necessary to help provide for his family at a young age. He worked most of his teenage years in construction, but also held jobs working as a clerk in a liquor store and waiting on people in an expensive French restaurant located in his hometown.

Upon graduating from high school in the spring of 1970, Deminsky joined the United States Air Force where he served overseas in both Thailand and Vietnam in 1972 and 1973. As a member of Air Intelligence, his job as a photo interpreter was to inspect aerial photographs and pick locations to target bombs. Deminsky was honorably discharged from service in 1974. He returned home with stories of what had gone on in a place he said "most only imagine about in history class." Deminsky took pride in being able to serve his country during this time.

After his time in the Air Force, Deminsky found himself unemployed and out of money. He decided that he would apply to college simply because he did not know what else to do. After applying to, and being accepted by universities such as Eau Claire, LaCrosse, Stevens Point, Oshkosh and Madison, Deminsky chose Stevens Point primarily because it was the first school that sent him back an acceptance letter. During his college career, Deminsky joined many clubs and also made some money parking cars at a local restaurant. He graduated in May 1978 with a bachelor's degree in communication. After getting married, Deminsky was often scolded by his wife for remembering college as being the best time of his life. It only took a few evil looks until his memories of college became the most fun of his life, but certainly not the best.

Deminsky moved to Madison in the summer of 1978. That year he began working for General Casualty Insurance Co. located in Sun Prairie. As a product developer, Deminsky spent 27 years at the company coming up with new coverage plans and analyzing rates for his clients. It was at work in the summer of 1979 that Deminsky met his future wife, Sharon Ladwig. After only a few months of dating, the couple fell in love and decided to get married. Together they raised four children.

Although he thoroughly enjoyed his job, Deminsky's greatest passion in life was his family. In recent months, with the birth of his first grandchild Jackson Parker, Deminsky seemed to enjoy time with his family more than ever before. Although it was difficult to do as his children got older, Deminsky made every effort to schedule a family vacation at least once a year, including a trip to France while one of his sons was studying abroad. He was also known as a man of the outdoors, regularly taking trips to northern Wisconsin to hunt, fish, boat and camp.

“He was the definition of a nice guy. His presence made the day go by faster,” said coworker and friend Jed Baumbach.

Deminsky is survived by his wife, Sharon; two daughters, Lindsay Deminsky of Oshkosh and Courtney Deminsky of Sun Prairie; two sons, Christopher and Peter Deminsky both of Madison; two brothers, Peter Deminsky of Ceres, Calif., and Norman Deminsky of Atlanta; three sisters, Joanne Jorstad of Chetek, Salena Rich of Robinson, Ill., and Linda McRae of Seattle; and one grandson. He was preceded into death by his parents.

Visitation will be at Crest funeral home Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. He will be buried Wednesday at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary cemetery.