Stanley Stevens Obituary

Retired UCSC Map Librarian Stanley D. Stevens died October 25 at age 88. Stan was born in San Francisco and later moved to Oakland. In 1940 he moved with his family to Paso Robles, where his father took a job working for the Post Office at Camp Roberts. He was a 1951 graduate of Paso Robles High School and regularly attended class reunions.After graduating high school, he attended San Jose State where he studied political science with emphasis on international relations. He worked briefly at the United Nations before returning to San Jose where he worked in the San Jose State library and where, in 1960, he met his future wife, Carli Lewis.Stan and Carli settled in Santa Cruz shortly after they married. He applied for a job in the library at the new UCSC campus and started working there in 1965 before the first students arrived. For nearly 30 years he served as map librarian at the McHenry Library, building the collection from scratch into an invaluable resource for students, faculty, and the public. During this time he was very active with the Western Association of Map Libraries.Stan and Carli adopted three children, Alex, Nik, and Brooke, whom they raised in Santa Cruz. Son Alex died in 2012. Stan was actively involved in many Santa Cruz community groups including the ACLU, the Genealogical Society, and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. He was a member and supporter of several other historical museums and societies. In 1966 he helped found the Catalyst in the old St. George Hotel.Stan, ever modest, considered himself an "amateur" historian, but his accomplishments in the study of Santa Cruz County History were numerous and scholarly. While map librarian, he acquired for the University collection many records from the F. A. Hihn company. Stan eventually became an authority on the life and business dealings of Hihn, a 19th century Santa Cruz capitalist who greatly influenced the county's early history.After retirement in 1993, he devoted even more time to local history studies. The majority of his projects focused on compiling, transcribing, and indexing material that would be useful to future historical researchers. He was the author of "Every Structure Tells A Story," "Names on the Map," "Pioneers of Santa Cruz County," and numerous articles. He inspired Donald Clark to write his "Santa Cruz County Place Names" book and helped get it published. He founded the group Researchers Anonymous in 1993 as a way for local historians to share discoveries and help each other. He founded the "Santa Cruz County History Journal" in 1994, which has now published 9 volumes plus an online edition.He was named Historian of the Year in 2000 by the History Forum at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History and was listed in Who's Who in America. In 2018 the Capitola Historical Museum interviewed Stan for the Capitola Memories Project, which is on YouTube.Stan's thoughtfulness and generosity helping others won him hundreds of friends and admirers. He will be deeply missed, but his contributions to local history will be put to use far into the future.Stan's wife, Carli, passed away in 2021 after 61 years of marriage. Stan is survived by his son Nikolas Stevens and his wife KD and their daughter Danika, and by his daughter Brooke Stevens and her son Jack Rich. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Stan's honor to one of the Santa Cruz County historical museums or societies.

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Published by Santa Cruz Sentinel from Nov. 8 to Nov. 10, 2022.

Memories and Condolences
for Stanley Stevens

Sponsored by santacruzsentinel.com.

5 Entries

Michael Noga

April 17, 2023

I met Stan in 1982 when I was just starting out in map librarianship at Stanford . He was very active in the Western Association of Map Libraries (WAML), which I think he cofounded. Besides his organizational skills, he was well known for being an early advocate of collecting and using aerial photos in map collections. He was initially responsible for saving the historic aerial photo collection from Fairchild Aerial Surveys in California libraries.

Stan was a legend in map librarianship in California and the West. He readily shared his knowledge with other librarians and was active in WAML and University of California-Stanford map groups during his tenure at UC-Santa Cruz.

I lost contact with Stan when I moved to a librarian position in Boston in the 1994, but I remember his strong interest in local history. I see that he accomplished much in this area.

Stan had strong integrity which he exhibited in discussions at professional meetings. It was a privilege to have known him.

Michael Noga
Retired librarian from UCLA and MIT

Jane Parks-McKay and Tim McKay

November 14, 2022

We were so sorry to hear of Stan's passing. I had heard so much about him and had the pleasure of working with him when we bought our home. Anxious for anything that would give information about the history of the home and the area, I consulted his book and we talked on the phone. He was so helpful. He left a great legacy and the appreciation of history is only one of them. Thank you to the Stevens for your positive presence in our special community.

Jennifer Fosgate

November 10, 2022

Stan was the best boss anyone could hope for. He was also my friend. I will miss him very much. Happy Birthday.

Jim & Alicia Walls

November 9, 2022

Sending Nik & the whole Stevens Family our deepest condolences.

Diane Gifford-Gonzalez

November 9, 2022

I was one of Stan's colleagues for many years at UC Santa Cruz. I remember being struck, early on in my time there, by his integrity, intelligence, and commitment to making the world a better place. I saw him last only a few months ago and found my conversation with him, as ever, a true pleasure. He was a man of value, as the Pueblo Indians say.

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