Dr. Steven Landis Bressler, age 74, passed away peacefully on November 18, 2025, surrounded by the love of his family.
Steven was born on June 7, 1951, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Harold and Esther (Kohn) Bressler. He is survived by his beloved wife, Karen Bressler, his children David Bressler, Kristina Bressler, and Isaac (Rachel) Bressler, his cherished grandchildren Moses, Anastasia, Seraphima, Elijah, and Tatiana, and his sister Carol Lake Goodman (Dr. Robert Brown).
Steven graduated from Clayton High School in 1969, earned his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1972, and completed his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley in 1982. His illustrious career in neuroscience includes founding the Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences at Florida Atlantic University, publishing in dozens of prestigious journals including Nature and Science, being cited more than 20 thousand times in scientific literature, and over 30 years of teaching and mentoring students as a professor at FAU.
Steven will be remembered for his love and affection for his wife, his dedication and devotion to his family, his whimsical sense of humor, and his devotion to God. His children hold dear the memory of long road trips singing along to zydeco songs with him, enjoying his specialty dish spinach ‘popeyes’, and evenings spent watching Alfred Hitchcock and classic cinema – moments that reflect the warmth, curiosity, and joy he brought into their lives.
May his memory be eternal.
Service and Burial Arrangements
Sunday, November 23, 2025 — St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church
1901 Ann Ave, St. Louis, MO 63104
- 4:00 PM – Entry of the body into the church
- 6:00 PM – Panakhida service
- Following Panakhida – Psalms reading through the night
Monday, November 24, 2025 — Funeral & Burial
- 11:00 AM – Funeral service at St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church
1901 Ann Ave, St. Louis, MO 63104 (approximately 45 minutes)
- ~ 12:15 PM – Graveside burial at St. Matthew’s Cemetery
4360 Bates St, St. Louis, MO 63116 (approximately 25 minutes)
Shivah Gathering
- ~ 1:30 PM – Shivah meal and gathering and sharing your best memories of Steven at the Bressler family home
3124 Woods Rd, Wildwood, MO 63038
So sorry to hear of Steve’s passing.
May his memory be for a blessing to all.
Thank-you so much Menachem! We appreciate you so much!
Karen, David, Christina, Isaac, Carol and family,
I’m sorry for the loss of your husband, father, grandfather and brother.
Thank-you Marilynn! You are such a blessing to me! I hope to see you at the memorial service at 3pm at my house at 3124 Woods Rd, Wildwood , MO. 63038
Paul and Suzanne Smailis send our sincerest condolences to you, Karen, and to your beautiful, loving g family.
As Rev. Billy Graham reminded us about the passing of a Beloved love one who has Faith in Jesus Christ, that one is still alive, and just one’s address has changed.
Our love to each of you.
Dearest Karen and Family,
Our deep condolences to you all.
We have always treasured our times with Steven when we visited FAU from New Zealand, and also the precious moments with you all at the restaurant in Boca Raton in 2017.
Our thoughts are with you all in these times.
Always in our hearts,
Carey and Joshua
Fond memories of growing up across the street….our condolences,
Dr. Steven Bressler was a professor in the Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology at FAU since 1991. He was a former director of the Center from 2015-2019 until his retirement in 2019. As a cognitive neuroscientist he played a key role in the Center’s NIMH National Training Program in Complex Systems and Brain Sciences both pedagogically and for his high-quality research. As his CV so clearly shows, Steve was a great asset to FAU, The Department of Psychology and The Center for Complex Systems (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=aJF2BAoAAAAJ&hl=en). As an esteemed FAU faculty member Steve was recently listed among the world’s top 2% of scientists. His research focused on the coordination dynamics within and between cortical regions of the brain by means of recording and analysis of fMRI, EEG, MEG, and LFP data. Working with colleagues, Steve’s dynamic network perspective on the structure and function of the cerebral cortex was shown to be adaptive and hypothesized to underlie the emergence of cognition in the brain. His legacy will live on in his many published research works with students and colleagues. One of his former graduate students, now a professor himself, on learning of Steve’s passing, responded: “He was a great mentor, scientist, and friend, as I wrote in my dissertation”. That says it all about Dr. Steven L. Bressler. We at the Center will miss him for his science, his leadership and his “whimsical humor.”
Our heartfelt condolences and thoughts are with Steve’s family, particularly his beloved wife, Karen Bressler and his children David Bressler, Kristina Bressler, and Isaac (Rachel) Bressler.
–Colleagues and Students at FAU’s Center for Complex Systems
Dear Karen, David and family,
We, in the Center for Complex Systems at FAU, are all very saddened to learn of the passing of our esteemed colleague, mentor and friend. Steve was instrumental in forming the Center and an outstanding mentor to many of our students in our PhD program. Our heartfelt condolences go to you all. We will remember Steve always.
We have posted an obituary about Steve’s passing on the Center’s website as well as the college website as follows:
REMEMBERING PROFESSOR STEVEN L. BRESSLER
Sadly, Dr. Steven L. Bressler passed away peacefully on November 18, 2025. Dr. Bressler was a Professor in the Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology at FAU. He was a former director of the Center from 2015-2019 until his retirement in 2019. Dr. Bressler graduated from Clayton High School in St Louis, Miss. in 1969, earned his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1972, and his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley in 1982 under the supervision of Dr. Walter Freeman. He completed postdoctoral training with Dr. Alan Gevins at University of California San Francisco, where he worked as a research scientist specializing in human electrophysiology.
Steve was an early hire at the Center for Complex Systems and the Department of Psychology in 1991. As a cognitive neuroscientist he played a key role in the Center’s NIMH National Training Program in Complex Systems and Brain Sciences both pedagogically and for his high-quality research. As his CV so clearly shows, Steve was a great asset to FAU, The Department of Psychology and The Center for Complex Systems (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=aJF2BAoAAAAJ&hl=en). As an esteemed FAU faculty member Steve was recently listed among the world’s top 2% of scientists. His research focused on the coordination dynamics within and between cortical regions of the brain by means of recording and analysis of fMRI, EEG, MEG, and LFP data. Working with colleagues, Steve’s dynamic network perspective on the structure and function of the cerebral cortex was shown to be adaptive and hypothesized to underlie the emergence of cognition in the brain. His legacy will live on in his many published research works with students and colleagues. One of his former graduate students, now a professor himself, on learning of Steve’s passing, responded: “He was a great mentor, scientist, and friend, as I wrote in my dissertation”. That says it all about Dr. Steven L. Bressler. We at the Center will miss him for his science, his leadership and his “whimsical humor.”
Our heartfelt condolences and thoughts are with Steve’s family, particularly his beloved wife, Karen Bressler and his children David Bressler, Kristina Bressler, and Isaac (Rachel) Bressler.
Dear Karen, and Family,
I was shocked to hear the sad news. My heartfelt condolences to you and the whole family.
Steve was very close to me, we had so many interesting and important things together. He was a top student in Walter’s, a scientific descendant of Walter. In that sense, Steve was my elder brother in science, and I feel well beyond. He was so important for me since Walter passed, and now Steve is not here any more. Remembering him helps us to continue what we started together..