Obituary of Richard Stanley Stevens

Richard Stanely 'Dick' Stevens was born May 27, 1920 in Regina, Saskatchewan to parents Jack and Kate Stevens. He was the oldest of 4 children. At the age of 7, Dick moved with his family to Nipawin, where his dad worked on the construction of the CPR railroad and passenger bridge. His dad, Jack Stevens was an English Plasterer and a brick layer by trade. When the bridge construction was completed, the Stevens family settled in Nipawin. They lived on a quarter of bush land across the river, down in the flats. Dick and his siblings went to school in the Elkdale school, which was about a 3 mile walk. Dick’s childhood was spent hunting and working to help the family live. His father continued to pull Dick out of school to help him with his plastering jobs and his bricklaying jobs. As a result, Dick attained only a grade 6 education. At the age of 19, in 1939, Dick went off to war. He was sent to England in 1940 where he stayed until the invasion in 1944. While he was in England, he met a young girl by the name of Frances Monk. Dick landed on Juno Beach in June with the second wave. He fought all across Europe and when Victory in Europe was claimed, he stayed and hauled heavy equipment to the seashore. He returned to England in August of 1945, where on Sept. 1, 1945, he and Fran were married. He was shipped home with his troop in October of 1945. Dick returned to Nipawin where he went to work for Neufeld seeds and started immediately to build a house for his bride. Fran later came to Nipawin and they moved into their house before it was finished. In 1948, their 1st son Brad was born, then daughter Gail followed in 1950, daughter Zae in 1953, son Paul in 1955 and lastly, daughter Jenny in 1965. Dick was well known in Nipawin for delivering all the freight from the railroad to the businesses and people of Nipawin for approx. 25 years. When the railroad shut down, he went to work at CSP food in Nipawin, where he worked until his retirement at age 65. He then worked for a local farmer until he was well into his 80’s. Dick was a member of the Oddfellows and a very active member of the Nipawin Legion. He loved to do woodworking and gardening. You could always find him in his garden or his woodworking shop. Dick loved his family and as his grandchildren and great-grandchildren increased, so did his love. Dick was predeceased by his parents, all his siblings and their spouses, all his sisters-in-law and their spouses and his special granddaughter Jackie Stevens. Dick is survived by his wife, Fran; his son Brad (Mona) Stevens; his daughters Gail (Doug) Carpenter and Zae (Ken) Hoppe; his son Paul (Debbie) Stevens; his daughter Jennifer (Murray) Wilson; his grandchildren, Todd Stevens, Scott Carpenter, Chad Carpenter, Jodi Carpenter, Amanda Hoppe, Roxann Hoppe, Laura Stevens, Jeremy Stevens, Kaytlyn Stevens, Sara Wilson and Jeff Wilson; and his 12 great-grandchildren. Dick will always be remembered as a very loving and caring Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather and neighbor.