Stephen Samuel Linkin

Stephen (Steve) Linkin passed peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. He was 84. Born in Boston and raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts, he was the oldest of three sons born to Lawrence and Ida Linkin. A born storyteller with a big personality, Steve loved flying, traveling, his Masonic lodge, his friends, his students, his children, his grandchildren, and most of all, his wife, Phyllis, whom he met on a commuter bus when he was just 19. After their first conversation, both Phyllis and Steve went home and each told their parents they had met their future spouse. Steve and Phyllis married on December 23, 1962, and set about building their family, eventually moving closer to Phyllis’ family in Malden. Steve earned an aeronautical engineering degree from Boston University and an industrial engineering degree from Northeastern. He attended classes during the day and drove a cab at night to pay his tuition. After graduating, Steve’s engineering career took the family to Connecticut, then western Massachusetts, and ultimately to Houston, where they settled in 1980. Steve embraced his new home and considered himself a true Texan. In those early years, he often donned a cowboy hat and boots. In the mid-1980s he transitioned to a career as a computer consultant before finding his calling as a professor at Houston Community College. He taught there until macular degeneration forced him to retire at the age of 80. Teaching suited Steve, who cared deeply about helping his students achieve success. He was a man who treated everyone with tremendous respect, regardless of their race, religion, gender, or social standing. As an active member and master of Temple Lodge #4 he urged his fellow Masons to seek out a more diverse membership, and he loved celebrating different holidays and traditions with a broad group of friends. Nothing delighted Steve more than regaling friends and family with tales from his childhood or sharing his expansive knowledge of history at the dinner table. Steve is survived by his wife, Phyllis; his daughter, Barbara Mendel; his son, Robert Linkin, and daughter-in-law, Stacy Linkin; his grandchildren, Max Mendel, Noah Linkin, Toby Linkin, and Leo Mendel; his brother, Lewis, and sister-in-law, Susan; his brother, Maxwell; his nieces, Wendy Linkin and Marcy Carson; and his nephew, Bryan Linkin. A graveside service will take place on Friday, May 23, 2025, at 11:00 am at Emanu El Memorial Park, 8341 Bissonnet Street, Houston, Texas 77074. In lieu of flowers, donations in Steve’s memory can be made to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation at www.macular.org or Temple Lodge #4, 4055 W. Bellfort, Houston, TX 77025.

Stephen Samuel Linkin

August 2, 1940 - May 20, 2025