William Stephens

Waynesville-William Kerr Stephens, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, died Tuesday, September 2, 2003 at Duke Medical Center in Durham.

The son of John Ruben and Sara Cathey Stephens, Mr. Stephens was born in 1925 in Canton and attended Canton schools. After completing his freshman year at Clemson College, he joined the Army Air Forces in 1943, serving as a B-17 navigator with the 8th Air Force in England during World War II. Following the war, he returned to Clemson, and graduated with a degree in civil engineering. Mr. Stephens worked for Champion International for thirty-seven years and retired as a member of the corporate engineering staff in Hamilton, Ohio. He was a member of the American Institute of Civil Engineers, a licensed surveyor, and an active member of Central United Methodist Church in Canton.

Mr. Stephens is survived by his wife of forty-five years, Elaine Francis Stephens; by their children, Elisabeth Stephens and her husband William Moss of Winston-Salem, William Francis Stephens of Waynesville, and Christopher Stephens of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; by granddaughters Beatrice and Cora Moss of Winston-Salem; by his brother and sister-in-law, Dr. and Mrs. Louis M. Stephens of Clinton, South Carolina; by a special brother-and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Jim Francis of Waynesville; and by several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his older brother, John R. Stephens, Jr.

A memorial service will be at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, September 6, 2003 at the Canton Chapel of Wells Funeral Home with Reverend Jack Caudill and Reverend Carrol Lindsey officiating. The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the funeral home prior to the service. Mr. Stephens will be buried in a private ceremony at Western North Carolina Veterans' Cemetery at Black Mountain.


The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Central United Methodist Church of Canton, P.O. Box 792, Canton, NC 28716.

Previous Events