Lee Alexander Stevens

Lee Alexander Stevens was born to Lois Wright (later married to Ben Englebright) and Paul Stevens in Mt. Vernon, Washington, two years after his much-adored older brother Larry Paul Stevens. His childhood was spent in both Oak Harbor and Mt. Vernon, and included living with his maternal grandparents, Ethel Tyler Wright and Leland J. Wright, to whom he much credited the solid foundation for his success in life.

Lee was active and mischievous, a scrappy boy with brilliant blond hair and goofy ears. As a kid, boating, fishing, and woodwork were his passions. He threw himself into Cub & Sea Scouts, had a paper-route, loved swimming and tennis, and played football and basketball. Part rural, part city boy, he was comfortable in both. More astonishing was that he devoted himself to boat building, a not-so-usual commitment for a boy his age. His antics led to many scrapes, including an ill-advised sailing of his newly-built boat in Naval waters at Whidbey Island. It was the 1940s and early ‘50s, and he had a free spirit. He spent nearly 90 years loving wood & water.

Lee graduated from Oak Harbor High School in 1954, with a good mind for mathematics, forensics (debate), and a Letter Jacket for his football, tennis, and basketball teams. Summers post-graduation, he worked with his grandfather on road crews and his father on various construction sites, further driving his lifelong love of building. He was a Teamsters Union local No. 411 member in Skagit County, WA, from 1954-1956. Around this time, he had told his mother he wanted to be a truck driver and her response was, “it will be because you want to be, not because you have to be.”

Lee explored many interests and campuses including pre- theology at College of Puget Sound in Tacoma, attesting to his deep faith at a young age, as well as classes at Western Washington College of Education in Bellingham, WA. Eventually settling in at Oregon State (College), with a focus on mathematics and forensics. Despite the seriousness of his degree path, Lee found a way to continue his passions and love of fun alongside his studies. He used his building skills to support the Theatre Department’s productions, he was active in the college’s Memorial Union Activity Council, and he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. Lee also had the chance to learn officiating and he seized the opportunity. He became a member of the Corvallis Officials’ Association and the Oregon State Athletics Association. Then and later, Lee would take on officiating jobs for high school and JUCO (Junior College) games to further provide for his young family. Lee graduated from Oregon State (College) University in 1959.

In 1956, Lee, age 20, and Wilma Lea Patten of Bellingham, age 19, were married (later divorced). Their young family grew as they moved around the country in pursuit of higher education and teaching opportunities. His first child Lee Richard, was born in 1958 in Corvallis, OR. In 1959, his second son, Marc Wesley, was born in Fortuna, CA.

Lee was teaching math & speech at the high school, as well as coaching the tennis team and leading their forensic team to first-ever state tournament honors. In 1960, he was a teacher in Yuba City-Marysville, CA, where his first daughter, Lisa Kaye, was born. In 1962, Lee joined the faculty at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, CA, and while there, received a National Science Foundation scholarship to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. His youngest child, Penny Sue, was born in 1962 in Brunswick. Lee earned his Master of Arts in Mathematics from Bowdoin in 1963 and the family returned west to San Jose, CA. While on the faculty at Foothill College, Lee taught and researched math and computer systems (he was on the cutting edge of computer science, bringing home punch cards for his kids to play with) and was Assistant Director of Research & Planning/Business Services. Along the way he authored four college level textbooks, including Geometry, A Contemporary Approach (co-authored) 1965/67 and Elementary Algebra 1970. 

In 1972, Lee earned his EdD, Doctor of Education, from Oregon State University (while a member of Phi Kappa Phi & Phi Delta Kappa fraternities). That same year, he became Dean of Instruction at Feather River College in Quincy, CA. In 1974, Leeaccepted the position of Vice Chancellor, Metropolitan Community Colleges in Kansas City, Missouri, where he remained until 1977, when he was named President of Golden West College in Huntington Beach, CA. The challenge at the time he moved to Golden West College was the budget, change in State policy, and student population demands. He spent many years adjusting the college to modern times, including bringing in computers for both administrative and classroom use. 

It was in the early 1980s that Lee met Louise A. Spivey (née Louise Ann Kirby), a Golden West College Instructor with the Business Faculty. Louise was smart, energetic, and enthusiastic about her work and life in southern California. A great romance was born amid their shared interests. By 1984, Lee and Louise had fallen in love and were married in Orange, CA.

The following year he took on the position of Vice Chancellor of the Coast Community College District until they both retired in 1991. Upon their retirement, Lee and Louise moved to acreage in the rural mountainous area of Colville, WA that sits along the northern stretch of the Columbia River (north of Spokane). Lee fashioned a large wood-working shop where he handcrafted exquisite creations, from furniture & doorbell covers to housewares & toys. Lee was steadfast in his Methodist faith throughout his life. He and Louise were extremely active in the local Habitat for Humanity organization, where he served in various hands-on as well as leadership roles, from actual construction to budget management and site compliance. The results of their efforts were the funding and construction of new homes year after year.

After 20 years in Colville, they re-retired to sunny St. George, UT where Lee continued to pursue his passions. Lee was a fresh water boating enthusiast & fisherman, avid traveler and sailor. He led countless sailing adventures to Greece, the Caribbean and elsewhere. Over the course of their 42 years of marriage, Lee and Louise ultimately traveled the world, experiencing 65 countries and most of the United States.

Lee Alexander Stevens was preceded in death by his younger daughter, Penny Johnson (2019, Idaho). Lee is survived by his wife, Louise Stevens (Utah), his brother and sister-in-law, Larry & Alba Stevens, (Washington), his half-brother, Paul R. Stevens (Washington), his sons & daughters-in-law, Lee & Andrea Stevens (Washington), Marc & Cynthia Stevens (Oregon), his daughter, Lisa Kaye (Michigan), his son-in-law, Kirk Johnson (Idaho), his step-daughters & sons-in-law, Susan Spivey & David Platt (Utah), Sheryl Spivey Meyer & Jeff Meyer (California), his grandchildren, John, Robert, Brandi, Marc, Samantha, Miles, Ben, and his great grandchildren, Wesley, Wyatt, Reagan, Aurora, and Kade.

Memorial services for Lee are April 18, 2026 at 11am at Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church in St. George, Utah, on what would have been his 90 th birthday. He will be returned to the land of his youth and interred with his mother at Fernhill Cemetery, Anacortes, WA, on June 13, 2026. For those who wish to give a remembrance, a donation in his name to your local Habitat for Humanity would be appreciated.