Obituary for Stephen Campbell
On Thursday, November 4th Stephen F. Campbell, loving husband, father of five children, and acclaimed cinematographer, passed away at the age of 65 at his home in Winter Park, Florida.
Stephen was born in 1956 in West Orange NJ, the second of eight boys. He was a gifted athlete throughout his youth and his (many) brothers fondly recall the fun they had watching him dominate on the basketball court, cheering him on. Later in life, watching professional basketball became an almost meditative exercise for him. He said it helped him remember what it was like when he played the game.
Stephen first came to Winter Park to attend Rollins College and played both baseball and basketball at the collegiate level. Once he got a taste of the Florida sunshine, he never wanted to leave.
By 1984, he fell in love and married Pamela Tracy and they made their lifelong home on Lot-a-fun Avenue. Together, they raised five kind, independent, and responsible children. Above all else, Stephen was loyal and dutiful to his family. He worked so hard to ensure they were always taken care of.
Stephen was a Florida filmmaker. He learned his craft, developed his talents, and built his career working alongside the women and men in the southern market. He got his first big break when he earned the opportunity to travel as a camera assistant on Michael Jackson’s 1984 “Thriller World Tour”. He made his way around the world with Michael that year, and again in 1988. Stephen went on to spend the next 30 years in Central Florida, creatively contributing to dozens of feature films and television shows and becoming a true pillar of the film community. Stephen was never one for the typical Hollywood politics. His colleagues describe him as always cool, collected, and collaborative on every set he graced.
In 2013 he moved to Atlanta, Georgia to join the crew of “The Walking Dead”. For seven seasons of zombies and apocalyptic mayhem, he created genre-defining imagery for the hit television show. He was so, so proud of that work.
When not on set, Stephen was at work in his yard. He spent close to forty years cultivating his 3/4 of a suburban acre, turning it into a tropical oasis. For the last eighteen months of his life, Stephen returned home to his little piece of paradise in Winter Park and enjoyed the literal fruits of his labors.
Stephen is preceded in death by his father Robert Campbell and his younger brother George Campbell.
Left to sort through the thousands of photographs and piles of old film scripts are his beloved wife, Pam, and his five children, Aubrie Canfield, Ian Campbell, Cameron Ilan, Fiona Campbell, and Riley Campbell.
His three young grandchildren will remember their “Baba” with great affection.
Left with decades of fond memories are his brothers, Bob Campbell, Chris Campbell, Tom Campbell, Frank Campbell, Joe Campbell and John Campbell, and his 22 nieces and nephews.
Left to the grief known only to parents who outlive a child, is his mother, Rita Ryan Campbell.
He wasn’t ready to go.
He didn’t want to leave us.
But, his work here was done.
We will miss him always.
A Florida gathering will be held at his home on Monday, November 8th. https://fb.me/e/X76nxNyA
Subsequent gatherings will be held in Atlanta and Scranton with details to come.
If you wish to express your sympathies with a gesture, the family welcomes contributions to Stephen’s legacy garden via Venmo @Stephen-Campbell-Legacy.
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Stephen was born in 1956 in West Orange NJ, the second of eight boys. He was a gifted athlete throughout his youth and his (many) brothers fondly recall the fun they had watching him dominate on the basketball court, cheering him on. Later in life, watching professional basketball became an almost meditative exercise for him. He said it helped him remember what it was like when he played the game.
Stephen first came to Winter Park to attend Rollins College and played both baseball and basketball at the collegiate level. Once he got a taste of the Florida sunshine, he never wanted to leave.
By 1984, he fell in love and married Pamela Tracy and they made their lifelong home on Lot-a-fun Avenue. Together, they raised five kind, independent, and responsible children. Above all else, Stephen was loyal and dutiful to his family. He worked so hard to ensure they were always taken care of.
Stephen was a Florida filmmaker. He learned his craft, developed his talents, and built his career working alongside the women and men in the southern market. He got his first big break when he earned the opportunity to travel as a camera assistant on Michael Jackson’s 1984 “Thriller World Tour”. He made his way around the world with Michael that year, and again in 1988. Stephen went on to spend the next 30 years in Central Florida, creatively contributing to dozens of feature films and television shows and becoming a true pillar of the film community. Stephen was never one for the typical Hollywood politics. His colleagues describe him as always cool, collected, and collaborative on every set he graced.
In 2013 he moved to Atlanta, Georgia to join the crew of “The Walking Dead”. For seven seasons of zombies and apocalyptic mayhem, he created genre-defining imagery for the hit television show. He was so, so proud of that work.
When not on set, Stephen was at work in his yard. He spent close to forty years cultivating his 3/4 of a suburban acre, turning it into a tropical oasis. For the last eighteen months of his life, Stephen returned home to his little piece of paradise in Winter Park and enjoyed the literal fruits of his labors.
Stephen is preceded in death by his father Robert Campbell and his younger brother George Campbell.
Left to sort through the thousands of photographs and piles of old film scripts are his beloved wife, Pam, and his five children, Aubrie Canfield, Ian Campbell, Cameron Ilan, Fiona Campbell, and Riley Campbell.
His three young grandchildren will remember their “Baba” with great affection.
Left with decades of fond memories are his brothers, Bob Campbell, Chris Campbell, Tom Campbell, Frank Campbell, Joe Campbell and John Campbell, and his 22 nieces and nephews.
Left to the grief known only to parents who outlive a child, is his mother, Rita Ryan Campbell.
He wasn’t ready to go.
He didn’t want to leave us.
But, his work here was done.
We will miss him always.
A Florida gathering will be held at his home on Monday, November 8th. https://fb.me/e/X76nxNyA
Subsequent gatherings will be held in Atlanta and Scranton with details to come.
If you wish to express your sympathies with a gesture, the family welcomes contributions to Stephen’s legacy garden via Venmo @Stephen-Campbell-Legacy.
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