William Stevenson

Ancestors

Son of William Marlow Stevenson and Tina Elzada Grisham

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Biography

William Marlow Stevenson was born 13 Oct. 1928 in Litchfield, Montgomery County, Illinois. His name could be written with a suffix of III, but he never used a number after his name. He was named after his father (William Marlow Stevenson, known to the family as Marlow); and Marlow in turn was named after his grandfather, the immigrant William Marlow Stevenson (rather than being named after his (Marlow's) own father, William Amos Stevenson). It is a popular name in the extended family, and my dad was told he was the fifth man in the extended family that he knew about to have this name.

William's younger twin sister was named Claudia Lou Stevenson, who was always called Wilma by the family. She legally changed her name to Wilma Claudia about the time of her marriage.

William was called Bill by his family, until well into his army career when he started being called Steve. It was not unusual in the army for surnames like Stevenson and Peterson to get turned into nicknames like Steve and Pete. Using Steve also helped William differentiate himself from other William Stevensons that he knew.

William and Wilma had one older sister, Hannah Lois Stevenson. All three children were born in Litchfield, Montgomery County, Illinois, where their father worked for the American Radiator Company.

William’s father died when he was 4 years old, and his family moved to South Dakota to be near relatives. William grew up on the family farm of his aunt Claudia Ann Grisham Christensen and his uncle Grover Christensen. His cousins Gordon and Ralph Christensen treated him as a little brother; and their grandfather Jens Christensen treated William as another grandson.

He excelled at sports, particularly track and field events, and really enjoyed playing football. He loved pheasant hunting.

William retired as a colonel in the US Army (Infantry), after 30 years of service. His service included commanding the 1st Battalion of the 22nd Infantry, in the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam, and commanding the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division at Ft. Riley, Kansas.

His sisters Hannah Lois and Wilma married brothers, Russell and George Chiasson of Chackbay, Lafourche parish, Louisiana.

He rests in the Fort Leavenworth, Kansas post cemetery on Biddle Boulevard (not the national cemetery in the town of Leavenworth).

Sources

• William's daughter Dawn