Raymond Stephenson

RAYMOND ANDREW STEPHENSON

Springville

Ray Stephenson, 87, of Springville, died Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016, due to declining illness. Visitation will be held at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Marion from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1. A private funeral for the family will be held at a later date. Burial will be in East Wiota Cemetery, Wiota, Wis.

Ray is survived by his wife, Lee (Keller) Stephenson, and daughter, Jodi Stephenson, both of Springville; brother, Franklin (Margie) Stephenson of Darlington, Wis.; mother-in-law, Evelyn Keller of Cedar

Rapids; niece, Lisa Schweitzer of Platteville, Wis.; nephews, Bruce Stephenson of Darlington, Wis., and Steve Martin of Cuba City, Wis.; and several grand and great-grand nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Anna (Senn) Stephenson; his sister, Shirley (William) Martin; and his older daughter, Leslie Stephenson.

Ray was born April 6, 1929, in Wiota, Wis. He played football at Darlington High School. After graduation he worked on the family farm for four years before joining the Air Force. He was a radio technician on a B36 in the 11th Bomb Wing, 26th Bomb Squadron, Crew 12. During the Cold War, one of Ray's duties was arming and disarming the atomic bomb. His squadron's plane also was featured in three Jimmy Stewart movies.

He later graduated from Oshkosh Institute of Technology, where he studied to be a lab technician.

Ray met Lee at Rockwell International (then Collins Radio), and they were married on Sept. 10, 1960. He was a lab technician at Rockwell for 30 years, and also farmed.

His hobbies included golfing, building and fixing things, and traveling to Branson, Mo.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a charity of the donor's choice in Ray's memory.

The family would like to thank the staff at Living Center West for their excellent care.

Please share a memory of Raymond at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.