C. B. "Steve" Stephenson

Commander, U.S. Navy

C. B. Stephenson was born on 22 May 1922 to Clarence Grant and Irene Vandiver Stephenson in Covington, KY. Bill (as he was known then) graduated from Holmes High School where he lettered in three sports as an athlete while succeeding as a scholar. He attended Washington & Lee University until his appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy from which he graduated in 1945. His activities at the academy included playing center and middle linebacker on the football team and singing in the midshipmen choir.

His first deployment in the Navy was to a destroyer at the end of World War II in the South Pacific. Flight training followed the end of the war. In 1947 he married his high school sweetheart, June Dunaway. After serving for more than ten years as an aviator (during which he flew the first military jets and was deployed on several aircraft carriers), Steve earned an M.S. degree (Accounting) and a MBA at George Washington University while serving in a Navy intelligence unit.

The family next spent a three-year tour of duty in Rota, Spain, where Steve was the Controller of the large Navy air station located there. His lifelong love of teaching led to his final deployment as an Instructor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. He retired from the Navy as a Commander.

In 1964, the Navy officer transitioned to the Professor, when Steve became a member and leader of the Ohio University Accounting faculty. He remained there until his retirement. During his time at Ohio University, he taught many accounting courses from introductory accounting to postgraduate auditing. Perhaps the accounting course he enjoyed teaching the most was in the OU Executive MBA program where his efforts drew praise from students and colleagues.

In 1979, Steve and Jane purchased an accounting practice in Athens where he and his wife worked together for a number of years. When they retired, they became residents of Bradenton, FL, but they maintained a condominium near Athens due to their strong ties to the area and to their family who lived in locations across the state of Ohio.

Throughout his life, Steve was an avid golfer, reader and investor. To the end, his passions continued to be his wife, his family, learning and teaching.

Commander C. B. "Steve" Stephenson, 88, of Athens, OH, passed away on Saturday evening, 11 December 2010 at the Lindley Inn Assisted Living facility following a short illness.

He was preceded in passing by his wife June Dunaway Stephenson in January 2006. He is survived by two sons, Grant (Stephanie) and Judd (Kim); and one daughter, Jan (Greg); six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

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