Obituary: Stephen Van Esen
July 10, 1936 - December 21, 2021
Updated April 27, 2022
Original obituary post is below.
December 27, 2021 
Stephen Van Esen
Stephen Van Esen, 85, of Waterbury, Vermont, lost his long battle with cancer and “Tipped Over” as he would say, on Tuesday, December 21, 2021.
Steve was born in Manhattan, New York, on July 10, 1936, to Francis R. Kohn and Stephen S. Van Esen. Steve grew up in White Plains, New York, and graduated from White Plains High School. He became an avid photographer at a young age and grew a successful camera and photography business (Color Tone) in Manhattan in the mid-1960s. Steve sold the camera shop and found his true passion in real estate. After a ski trip to Vermont, he fell in love with the state and in 1977 made the permanent move with his family to property in Moretown, Vermont. At that time, he started Vermont Realty Exchange in Waterbury.
Steve loved Waterbury and saw early on the great potential within the community. He was a huge believer in the Town of Waterbury and had a vision to revitalize and put Waterbury on the map. Steve was instrumental in many of Waterbury’s commercial successes and strongly believed in helping local businesses grow. One of Steve’s greatest success stories was the Pilgrim Partnership with friend Eddie Steele that brought Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and other small businesses to Waterbury. Many of these real estate development ideas were born over the kitchen table with endless jokes and some of Steve’s favorite foods: raw oysters, sashimi, ceviche and good wine. Steve also enjoyed spending the many hours required to mow the back fields of Pilgrim.
Steve’s relationships were his life. He had many close friends who supported and adored him - some would say Steve was their mentor. Steve was a long-time member of the Rotary Club of Waterbury and his fellow Rotarians were very special to him. He served on the boards of the Waterbury Historical Society and the Waterbury Area Senior Center. Steve enjoyed giving time and financial support to any entity that worked toward improving the local community.
His family extends a special Thank You to longtime family friend Beverly Young and her family, the Rotary Club, and Waterbury Ambulance Service.
Steve is survived by his daughter Jenny Evjen (Ron) of Hermantown, Minnesota, and grandsons Ethan Evjen of Boulder, Colorado, and Aaron Evjen of Hermantown; and his sister Penny Craig, of Ridgewood, New Jersey.
Services are being arranged through the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home in Waterbury and will be announced at a later date. For those who wish, memorial gifts would be appreciated to the Waterbury Historical Society, P.O. Box 708 Waterbury, VT 05676 or to the Waterbury Rotary Club c/o Thomas Badowski, 79 Farnham Road, Moretown, VT 05660.
Online condolences to the family may be made on the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home website.