Stanley Howard Stevens

1938 - 2025

Stanley Howard Stevens was born in Reno, Nevada on July 15, 1938, the son of Howard Stevens and Ruth Nevada Stevens. He grew up in Bishop, California, located in the Sierra Mountains, where he earned his pilot's license at the age of sixteen. He graduated from Bishop High School in 1956.
He attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, majoring in Engineering, and in 1960 joined the United States Navy as a Flight Cadet. Following Flight School at Pensacola, Florida, he was one of the first carrier pilots selected to be trained on jet aircraft. He was invited to join the daredevil Blue Angels but believed he would join the angels soon enough. Lieutenant Commander Stevens left the Navy in 1968, following service on several carriers during the Vietnam War, and a brief recall for the Pueblo Crisis in North Korea. In 1967 he was hired by Trans World Airlines, beginning a flight career from which Captain Stevens retired after thirty years, in 1997.
In 1975 Stan married Linda Walker. The couple made their first home in Pacifica, California, but soon moved to Napa Valley, where they grew Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer grapes, selling their harvests to Rutherford Hill Winery. In 1985, following Stan's transfer from the San Francisco domicile to TWA's St. Louis hub, the Stevens family transplanted to Hermann, Missouri.
During his years in Hermann Stan served on the Agricultural Extension Board and the Hermann Airport Commission. He was a longtime member of the Hermann Garden Club and a founding officer of the Hermann Tree Commission, for which service the Conservation Department awarded him the Arborist Award in 2024. On October 27, 2025, Mayor Cox delivered a commendation for Stan's years of service to the community.
He became involved in the Boy Scouts as a Cub Den leader and later as Assistant Scoutmaster for Hermann Troop 116, where he mentored several young men, including his son, to the rank of Eagle Scout. He was inducted into the honorary Order of the Arrow fraternity, becoming a Vigil Honor member. He also served as a Unit Commissioner for the Five Rivers District of the Great Rivers Council, as an instructor at Camp Hohn, and in the Wood Badge Program. In 2018 he received the Boy Scouts of America's highest honor, the Silver Beaver Award, for his many years of outstanding leadership and service.
Stan enjoyed gardening, tending his home vineyard, winemaking, sawmilling, and wood working. During his daughter's years in 4H he assisted her in raising prize-winning sheep on the family property. He was always ready to help others, including the Ministerial Alliance, with their plans and projects.
He is survived by his wife, Linda, his daughter Amy Adams of Lake Ozark; by his son, Kelly Walker Stevens, and daughter-in-law Yvette Stevens (nee Shofner), in the Florida Keys; by his brother, Robert, in California; and by granddaughters Rileigh and Jillian, as well as several nieces and nephews. He valued many lifelong friends and newer ones, as well. He will also be mourned by several devoted cats.
Stan died at home on October 31, 2025 surrounded by his family, after a two-year battle with cancer. A visitation will be held at Toedtmann & Grosse Funeral Home on Wednesday, November 12, from 4-8 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held at St. George Catholic Church on Thursday, November 13, at 10 a.m.
Interment of his ashes will be observed with military honors in St. George Cemetery. Memorials may be made to St. George Church and School.
Honorary pall bearers are Keith Baumstark, Scott Bringhurst, John Buckner, Richard Fennessy, John Fleming, Jesse Geltz, Art Hingst, and Mike Rood.
The family wishes to thank the New Haven Home Hospice for the kind care of its staff members, as well as to the special friends who made Stan's last week's happy ones.