Riley Stevens

1952 - 2017

Riley Stevens

Anderson, SC

Riley Randolph Stevens died April 4th in a plane crash in Micanopy, Florida. He will be greatly missed by his family and many friends. Riley's father was in the Air Force which meant growing up the family lived all over the US. Riley was born at McDill Air Force Base, Tampa, FL, on July 9, 1952. For college, Riley chose the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and went into the service after graduation. While Riley was stationed in Munich, Germany, his sister announced that she was coming to visit and bringing along the person, his sister insisted, whom he would marry. Sure enough, after a month of touring Europe, Riley was over the moon and back. After a courtship of letter writing between Indiana and Germany and a few visits, Riley and Cindy were married in 1980. The couple attended a house-building school in Maine for their honeymoon and then proceeded to build their own home in Monument, Colorado, with great and able assistance from friends and family. Riley worked for Texas Instruments in quality assurance/quality control in Colorado Springs. In 1987, their daughter, Eve, was born and shortly thereafter (1988) Riley joined American Airlines as an engineer on the 727. He became first officer, and captain while flying a variety of aircraft including the MD-80, 737, 757, 767, and 777.

A job opportunity for Cindy took the young family across the country to South Carolina in 1990. In 1993 their daughter Lee was born. Riley enjoyed his career because it allowed him to see the world and then play stay-at-home dad the other half of the week. Riley watched his daughters' swim practice during the week and volunteered as a meet official or lane timer during meets in order to be closer to the action. He also volunteered in a variety of ways at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Clemson, at his daughters' schools as an Odyssey of the Mind coach, and president of the Clemson Aquatics Team.

In 2003 Riley decided to take advantage of his American Airlines benefits to take his family on a trip around the world. He planned for months then led them on the adventure of a lifetime to every continent but Antarctica. Riley was captivated by the wonders of the world from V-8 engines to the structure of molecules to US History and he let his wife and children know about each in detail.

Riley was the kind of dad who made "flap jacks" on weekends, sang show tunes in the grocery store, and listened with rapt attention to the everyday details of his daughters' lives. He was the husband who told his wife every day how proud he was of her career, and how lucky he felt to share his life with a woman who "gets more beautiful every year." Riley provided his family with a life full of love, comfort, and adventure. He was kind, funny, and wise. He put the good of the whole ahead of himself and lived in a way that ensured all felt loved in his presence.

Riley was predeceased by his parents, William Fay Stevens and Adna Madeline Bridges Stevens; his brother, William Bridges Stevens; and his mother-in-law, Maybelle Morgan Lee.

Riley is survived by his wife, Cindy Margaret Lee; daughter, Eve Morgan Stevens, and son-in-law, Stephen K. Allinger, Jr; daughter, Lee Bridges Stevens; sister, Tandy Leone Stevens Gotchall; father-in-law, Donald Moore Lee; and brother-in-law, Marshall Morgan Lee. A memorial service will be held May 7th at 2pm at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Clemson.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Clemson, 230 Pendleton Road, Clemson, SC 29631 or the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts Foundation, P. O. Box 8458, Greenville, SC 29604 or online at gsafoundation.net.

Condolences may be expressed online at www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com.

Duckett-Robinson Funeral home, Central, is assisting the family.