W.C. Stevenson Jr.

1931 - 2016

W.C. STEVENSON, JR.

Jackson

William Cameron (Bill) Stevenson, Jr. died at his home of lymphoma on Friday, May 6, 2016. He was 84.

The funeral will be at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, May 9, 2016, in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church, Jackson, with Pastor Tom Washburn officiating. Visitation with the family will follow the service in the Sanctuary. (A family graveside service at Magnolia Cemetery in Meridian will precede the service.) Sebrell Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Born in Corinth, Mississippi, to William Cameron Stevenson and Clara Marguerite Johns Stevenson in 1931, Bill was graduated from Corinth High School. He attended Northeast Mississippi Junior College, then the University of Mississippi, before being called to active duty in the United States Navy in 1951. He served aboard the U.S.S. Tarawa (CV-40) in the Mediterranean Sea during the Korean Conflict. Following his Navy service, Bill returned to Ole Miss, where he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. He received a degree in business administration from Ole Miss in 1956.

Bill's career was in property and casualty insurance, first with the Mississippi Insurance Commission from 1956 to 1960, and then Employers' Group before joining Aetna Insurance Company in Jackson in 1968. He lived in Slidell, Louisiana, from 1971 to 1979 while serving as manager of the New Orleans region for Aetna. He returned to Jackson in 1979 to serve as president of W.A. Sullivan General Agent until his retirement in 1999.

Bill was an active participant in the life and work of First Baptist Church of Jackson, serving as a deacon and calling on those homebound.

During Bill's youth in the Boy Scouts, a friend nicknamed him Mouse. The name stuck, and throughout his life many friends called him that. He was always Uncle Mouse to his nephew, nieces, and great-nephews and great-nieces. One of his friends observed that, "Mouse's stock in trade is people." It was true. Mouse loved people, conversing with them, knowing their life stories and their kinships, and swapping stories.

Bill is survived by his wife of 43 years, Mildred Severance Stevenson. He is also survived by his nephew, James Stevenson Ray and Steve's wife Melinda of Jackson, and their children Leslie Johns Ray of New Orleans and Cameron Stevenson Ray of Jackson; by his niece Margaret Elizabeth Ray Ault and her husband Bill of Charlotte, North Carolina, and their children William Ray Ault and Clara Agnes Ault of Oxford; and by his niece Beverly Ann Ray, her husband Reed Branson, and their children Robert Burns Branson II and Margaret Borroum Branson of Jackson.

His parents and his sister, Margaret Stevenson (Peggy) Ray of Tupelo, predeceased him.

Pallbearers are Bill Ault, Reed Branson, Cameron Ray, William Ault, Robert Branson, and Clyde Brooks Mosley. Honorary pallbearers are members of the Beacon Sunday School Class, FBCJ.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to French Camp Academy, One Fine Place, French Camp, MS 39745 or First Baptist Church, 431 North State St., Jackson, MS 39201, or Hospice Ministries, 450 Towne Center Boulevard, Ridgeland, MS 39157.