Graveside services for James Harry Stevens, 89, of Ada are 10:00 a.m. Saturday at Rosedale Cemetery, Rev. Brian Matthews will officiate. The Chickasaw Honor Guard will conduct military honors at the cemetery. There will be a reception following the service at the First United Methodist Church, Ada.
James Harry Stevens passed away Friday, August 16, 2019 at the Veterans Center in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
Jim was born on May 14, 1930, to Harry and Mary (Ely) Stevens in Sutton, Nebraska. He was the fifth of five children: Merle, Iris, Cleo,and Selma. Jimmy was a hard working and industrious youth, delivering 2 routes on his bicycle purchased with his own money. He worked in the Sutton bakery, taught Sunday School at the Federated Church, and assisted with a Cub Scout den during high school. He graduated from Sutton High School in 1948. During the Korean War, he served in the U.S. Air Force as a corporal from 1948-1951. On August 29, 1954, he married his high school sweetheart, Barbara Jeanene McLaughlin, in Sutton, Nebraska.
After attending the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska, Jim was employed by Ideal Cement in Superior, Nebraska, as a chemist. He was transferred to Ada, Oklahoma, in 1957. This began a rich full season, living in Ada all the rest of his life except for a short time at the Veterans Center in Ardmore, Oklahoma, at the end of his life. Jim and Jeanene raised 4 children, Susan, Jim, Laura, and Christopher. Jim was an active member at First United Methodist Church and the Fellowship Class for over 60 years. He served on the Administrative Board, helped with Methodist Youth Fellowship, and forged many long-lasting friendships. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club and spent many summer nights making snow cones and driving the train at Wintersmith Park. Jim and Jeanene enjoyed being a part of bridge clubs with special friends. Jim retired from Ideal (Holnam) Cement in 1985. After retirement, he delivered Meals On Wheels and made regular visits to nursing homes representing the church. He and Jeanene enjoyed extended stays at Puerto Vallarta in Mexico for many winters.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his mother and father-in-law, Gayle and Ruby McLaughlin; his brothers, Merle and Cleo, and his sisters, Iris Wiard and Selma; and his daughter-in-law, Leslie Stanley-Stevens.
Those left to cherish his memory are his wife of 64 years, Jeanene Stevens; brothers-in-law, Roger Sheridan and Tom Hurst; daughter, Susan (Larry) Parks; son, Jim (Cindy) Stevens; daughter, Laura French; and son, Christopher Stanley-Stevens; and 11 grandchildren, Kathryn (Chris) Flanigan, Elizabeth (Steve) Honea, Laura (Jon) Shea, Sarah (Luke) Hartman, Mary Caroline (Matt) Ardoin, David (Joelle) Parks, Amelia and Avery Stevens, Roman Alis, and Parker and Forrest Stanley-Stevens, and 9 great-grandchildren; Jimmy, Violet, and Fern Flanigan; Jason, Lilian, Peter, and Susan Honea; Jack and Owen Shea, and many more family members and friends.
Memorials may be given to the First United Methodist Church Fellowship Class, 129 W.14th Street, Ada, OK 74820.
Criswell Funeral Home, Ada
