David Stephan, Winter Springs, Florida, passed away peacefully at Advent Health, Orlando, with his son, Kevin and his wife, Mary beside him. He was born to Hazel and Kenneth Stephan, in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 15, 1941 and grew up in Southern Minnesota During high school in Rushford, Minnesota.
He decided between his junior and senior year to enlist in the Navy, and with his father’s approval, he enlisted During Boot Camp, he was approached about a possible appointment at the United States Naval Academy, and returned to high school, graduating in 1959, and reporting to Annapolis, Maryland as a Plebe at the Naval Academy.
Having done well in school, David was, nevertheless, at a distinct disadvantage academically, having come from such a small school His determination and perseverance began in earnest during that time, and he graduated with an engineering degree and was commissioned in June, 1963 He married Judy (Peterson) Stephan, and together, they had three sons – Kevin (Deb) Stephan, Michael Stephan, and Patrick (Jennifer) Stephan. David was honorably discharged in 1967.
Later, separated, David and Mary Stephan were married in 1982, and have just celebrated 41 years as a blended step-family David pursued a career in government contracts in the computer industry, which eventually took him all over Western Europe involved in business development for Control Data Corporation, and began his lifelong love of travel Later moving to Florida, and working for Harris Corporation, living in a condo on the beach for three years, was like a dream. Moving to the Washington, DC Metro area opened up another 12 years or so of blessings through work and life in the vicinity of our Nation’s Capital and the USNA in Annapolis, and included driving trips to New York City, and personal travel began in earnest.
While in this area, David and Mary built a new home, decided to scale back and lived for two years on a houseboat in downtown, Washington DC…and then moved into their motorhome, in which they lived and traveled and he continued to work until his retirement in 1998. After a six-month trip in the motorhome, they again settled in Florida, living most of the time since in Hacienda Village, Winter Springs. Together, David and Mary established a travel business, specializing in riverboat cruising in Europe, enjoying many trips with family, friends and customers.
A major highlight for David was attending the 50th Class Reunion at the Naval Academy in October 2013, after years of supporting the Academy through the Class of 1963 Foundation, and through which foundation was established the Class of ’63 Center For Academic Excellence. The “CAE” “teaches learning skills needed for a rigorous academic environment” and David appreciated so much any assistance midshipmen could be given to compete and thrive in such an environment. David spent many years here reviving his love of music, playing accordion for church for eleven years, and discovering a love for painting Recent years have been spent more quietly at home, enjoying memories of a lifetime and and time together with his sons and his sons’ wives, Deb and Jenny, and their children Corey, Jeremy, Ian and Jacqueline, and more recently welcoming Corey’s wife, Olivia and their two children, Auggie and Lucy.
David was preceded in death my his parents, his sister Diane, and is survived by his sister, Judy (Vallejo, California) and his wife, Mary.
Our greatest joy together has been letting our life unfold and our faith in Jesus Christ continue to grow. On his last morning, David announced to the hospital staff, as he declined one last procedure, in an attempt to save his life, that he knew where he was going, that his eternal life began when he met and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior, and he couldn’t fight the course nature was taking on his body, in this world, any longer and was ready to go Home, and that with his son’s and wife’s blessings. And, yes, Honey, I will see you on the Other Side.
A service to celebrate David’s life and service will be held at Hacienda Village Clubhouse on October 21, at noon, with refreshments to follow.