Obituary & Death Notice

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George W. Stevens

GEORGE W. STEVENS
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. / Richmond - George W. Stevens, 59, formerly of Richmond, passes away unexpectedly as a result of a motorcycle accident on Dec. 21, 2002, in Palm Beach, Fla.
George was born to Heman Henderson Stevens and Gladys Walton Stevens of Huntington on Sept. 27, 1943.
He was predeceased by his wife, Lorraine Casey Stevens of Richmond in February of 1985; his brother, Heman, of Florence, Mass.; and by his brothers, Donald and Richard, of Huntington.
He is survived by two brothers, Harold of Hardwick and Roger of Richmond; and three sisters, Dottie Blish and Rita Bradley of Huntington, and Gerry Hallock of Essex. He leaves numerous uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces and friends.
George is also survived by his children, Stephanie Stevens of San Diego, Calif., Jason Stevens of Dallas, Texas, and Casey (and Colleen Jackson) Stevens of Essex, and Colby (and Dawne Place) Stevens of Essex Junction. He is looking down upon his five grandchildren, Cody Jason and Cassandra June of Dallas, Jacob Taylor and Lauren Nancy of Essex Junction, and newborn Allison Lorraine Theresa, whom he was very excited to meet.
George served in the U.S. Army as a military policeman, spending some time in France, Germany, Belgium and Spain, among other places. After returning from service, he worked at Vermont Heating and Ventilating for a few years. He then owned and ran "Steve's Place", a restaurant and bar in Richmond from the late 70s to 80s, and then worked at Rossignol for a short time. Later, he was employed at IBM in Essex Junction as a facilities maintenance technician until the mid 90s. Although he always had plenty of fun at work, people would find themselves hard-pressed to remember George ever taking any sick time. He always believed that if you could make it to your feet, then you had no business calling yourself sick.
He belonged to several fraternal organizations, including Patriot Lodge 33, F & AM, Hinesburg, the Elks and the VFW. From the late 90s, George owned a camp on Lake Morey in Fairlee, where he loved to entertain since it was right on the water and only a short jaunt from the Lake Morey Country club. Although he loved motorcycling, swimming, playing horseshoes, shooting pool and occasionally going fishing, his three most favorite things after visiting with family and friends were golfing, playing cards, and picking on everyone relentlessly. He played in the World Championship of Poker in Las Vegas, and won trophies playing cards and golf locally. If there were awards for pushing people's buttons, nobody would have bothered holding a tournament, since George was a shoe-in.
Not surprising, given his interests, George had an uncanny knack for numbers, and for reading people. Beneath his rough exterior was a heart of gold, but he'd fight tooth and nail to make sure only a select few ever found out. To say that George was quite a character is an enormous understatement; to those that knew him well, no explanation is necessary. to those that didn't, no explanation is possible.
Among his accomplishments, though, what we are most proud of George for is the way he carried on and never gave up when his wife, Lorraine, passed away. It would have been easy to fold up, cave in, and make excuses, but he never did. He dug in deep, raised his kids, and made sure that they got through school. We know, by his example, that he would want us all to carry on the same way, in order to make him proud.
Funeral service will be held Saturday, Dec. 28, at 10 a.m. in the Richmond Congregational Church. Burial will take place in the spring. Visiting hours are Friday, Dec. 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. in Gifford Funeral Home, 22 Depot St., Richmond. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to one of the following, Vermont Cancer Center, Health Science Research Facility, 149 Beaumont Ave., Burlington, Vt. 05405-0075, The American Lung Association of Vermont, 30 Farrell St., South Burlington, Vt. 05403-9987, or the United Way of Chittenden County, 95 St. Paul St., Burlington, Vt. 05401.
--The Burlington Free Press, Burlington, Vermont, December 24, 2002 Page 14

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