Paul Michael Stevens M.D.

1934 - 2025

Paul Michael Stevens MD
04/17/1934 - 02/18/2025
Paul Michael Stevens, MD, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in Houston on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
Paul is survived by his beloved wife of 30 years, Mary Ellen Stevens; his three daughters, Joan Romel, Jessica Stevens Runnels, and Melissa Stevens; and his four grandchildren, Gabriella Chaviva Runnels, Sierra Kochava Runnels, Calvin Meira Runnels, and Kadi Hamilton Runnels.

Paul was born in Berlin on April 17, 1934, to Misha Stikans and Pauline Rosen Stikans. At age one, the family moved to Paris, France. When the Nazis marched on Paris, Paul's family fled to Cannes, where his parents were sheltered by a wonderful friend. Paul attended a boys' school in Thorenc, where he was told he was Catholic and spent several years in hiding.
Despite some close calls - one of which entailed Paul begging a Nazi guard to release his mother - Paul and his parents survived the war. His older half-brother, Arnold 'Kadi' Rosen, was not so lucky. A medical student at the time, Kadi was killed on a forced march.
After the war, they returned to Paris to find their apartment on Rue Paul Valéry completely intact, with all their possessions carefully preserved. Paul continued school there until his father was able to emigrate to the United States when Paul was 12. Paul came to the United States in 1946 aboard the Athos II where he roomed with the renowned Jewish painter Marc Chagall for the voyage.
He lived in Presque Isle, Maine, in a small, shaky apartment above the starch factory his father owned. He graduated from Presque Isle High School in 1950 at age 16-having spoken not a word of English before arriving. During summers, Paul worked as a lifeguard and was once commended by the Governor of Maine for saving a swimmer caught in an undertow.
Paul attended the University of Maine for his undergraduate degree and, following in the footsteps of his brother, he went to medical school. After graduating from the University of Vermont, he completed an Internal Medicine residency at Seton Hall Hall College of Medicine in New Jersey and a fellowship in Pulmonology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University.
Paul became a naturalized citizen of the United States, and in 1962, he joined the Air Force as a Captain to serve his country. He was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, where he helped evaluate the test pilots who would go on to become our nation's first astronauts in the Mercury program.
In San Antonio, he met Nella Burnes to whom he was married for 17 years and with whom he had two daughters, Jessica and Melissa. In 1968, he moved to Houston with his growing family to take a teaching position at Baylor College of Medicine.
Paul quickly rose to become the Chief of the Pulmonary Section and was a pioneer in the emerging field of critical care at one of the world's premier medical centers. Paul's patients travelled from around the world to receive his care, and young physicians from far and wide came to Baylor for the opportunity to learn from him. During his many years of service at Baylor, Paul won countless teaching awards and touched the lives of innumerable patients, students, residents, and fellows.
In 1991, Paul met the love of his life, Mary Ellen, in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize. Two years later, they became a couple, and two years after that, they married on the beach in Belize at sunset in front of the house they built together - Casa Pablo. Paul was a lover of life and the ladies, but once he found Mary Ellen, he knew he had met his match forever. Together, they made homes in Belize, Paris, Maine, South Carolina, and Houston. Paul was never happier or more at peace than he was with Mary Ellen.
Paul is remembered by all for his sharp wit, his keen intellect, his generous and gracious spirit, and his joie de vivre. An evening with Paul was always an evening to remember. Whether he was bringing you homemade lobster rolls at the end of the pier in Belize, entertaining you in Paris, driving you around the coves of Maine in the Blue Bijou, or just making you a famous Stevens steak-and-fries dinner in his home in Houston, Paul always wanted to share his life and loves with the people around him.
Paul requested that no memorial service be held. Paul would love to know that, somewhere in the world, the sun is setting, and someone is raising a glass in his honor.