If $A,B \in \mathcal{S}$ implies that $A \cup B \in \mathcal{S}$, is $\mathcal{S}$ closed over countable, or merely finite union?
Not at all. Consider, for example, the set of finite subsets of $\Bbb{N}$. Clearly, the union of two finite sets is finite, but the countable union $$\bigcup_{n \in \Bbb{N}} \{n\}$$ is infinite.