John Thomas (Jack) Stevens

John Thomas (Jack) Stevens, 93, passed away Tuesday, the 3rd of September, surrounded by his loving family.  Jack was born in Seattle on June 19, 1926 to Marguerite Patricia and Sydney Alexander Bailey Stevens. He was raised in Seattle where his father was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives. In pursuit of his love of flying, he served in the Army Air Corp before the end of WWII. He attended Whitman College before transferring to Washington State College (University). At a 4th of July party in Manson in 1949, he met the love of his life, Barbara Claire Peterson. They were married on June 17, 1950, becoming the first couple to be married in the newly remodeled Manson Methodist Church.

They made Manson their home where he became an orchardist, and for many years helped his father-in-law, Art Peterson, in the orcharding business and in developing a golf course on family owned property in Stehekin. During this time, Jack was proud to play an instrumental role in bringing the North Cascades National Park and Recreation Area into the Stehekin Valley. While continuing to own and operate their orchards, Jack and Barbara moved their family to Bellevue in January of 1962 when Jack began working for Boeing.

Jack left Boeing to pursue his interest in the field of real estate. He became a Real Estate Broker, General Contractor, and Commercial Real Estate Developer, founding his own company, Stevens Properties. During the Seattle recession of the early 1970s, he was recruited by People’s Mortgage Company to complete and sell repossessed housing developments. He later became a Vice President at People’s National Bank where he oversaw the construction and leasing of their corporate headquarters in downtown Seattle. During the 1980s Alaskan economic recession, he was again recruited to go to Anchorage to help solidify two failing banks through merger and the sale of repossessed properties.

In the mid 1990s, Barbara retired from teaching and they returned to live permanently in Manson. They purchased a strip mall and surrounding property in Manson. They redeveloped the strip mall into the Wapato Point Village Inn Motel, which they operated for almost 20 years. At the ages of 87 and 85, they finally decided it was time to sell the motel. Jack continued to manage Stevens Properties until his death.

Jack is survived by his wife of 69 years, Barbara; his brother, Gary Stevens; his four children, Deborah Stevens Gianulis, Kerry Stevens Miller, John Craig Stevens and his wife Annette; and Stacia Stevens Kallstrom and her husband Ted; 12 grandchildren and 7, soon to be 8, great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his beloved sister, Marguerite.

A memorial service will be held at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, on Friday, September 27, at the North Shore Bible Church in Manson, Washington. The service will be followed by a dinner, which was Jack’s wish as he wanted to express his gratitude to the community, his family and friends, for their many years of support. His family looks forward to celebrating his long and meaningful life with everyone who can attend.