George Stephens

George Clyde Stephens, 81, died Saturday, May 21, 2011, at Four Corners Health Care Center in Durango, Colo. A Memorial Service will be held Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at 2 P.M. at Hood Mortuary. Burial will occur at Greenmount Cemetery in Durango. Visitation will be held at Hood Mortuary Chapel on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, from 5-8 p.m.

Mr. Stephens was born April 2, 1930, in Gracemont, Okla., son of Clyde and Verda Stephens. Born six months into the Depression, George learned early the value of hard work. During the years before becoming an adult, George helped the family survive by helping his father with picking cotton, milking 24 cows, farming and cutting and hauling wood.

George married Wanda Jean Head in 1949. They had 4 kids together. The marriage later ended in divorce.

After finishing high school, he worked on oil rigs as a motorman, following the rigs from town to town for 8 years. He then spent 3 years learning to cut meat at his uncle’s grocery store in Lubbock, Texas. This led him to Pueblo, Colo., where he worked for Davis Meat Co., for the next 7 years. Then in 1965 George and a partner, Wayne Crowther, established a successful business called Valley Meat Co., which was located in Alamosa, Colo.

In 1972 George married Marsha Jones bringing another five children into the picture. George and Marsha enjoyed 38 happy years of marriage.

Mr. Stephens was actively engaged in entrepreneurial pursuits from a tender age and always said, “I never had trouble finding a job, it was getting rid of the job that was the problem.” Well known and sometimes teased for his immaculate automobiles and manicured lawns, George kept busy here and there.

In 1980 the family moved to Durango, Colo., as co-owner in Lori’s Family Dining. In 1983 Durango Bowl was established. For the next 22 years this business was also very successful. George decided to retire in 2002 due to health problems.

Ambitious, generous, gregarious: George never met a stranger, he maintained lifelong friendships. He had a way of making you feel you were most important. Mr. Stephens was a generous man, helping anyone in need and believed honesty and integrity in dealing with others was very important. George loved new experiences. One pursuit he enjoyed was hunting for gold and the stories associated therewith. He loved the outdoors, hunting, boating and fishing. Family to George was everything.

In earlier years, Mr. Stephens was active in the Masonic Lodge. He was president of the Tote Gote Association for a number of years and made many good friends.

Mr. Stephens is preceded in death by his parents, Clyde and Verda Stephens, sisters, Kathrine D. and Margaret R. Stephens, and son, Gerald R. Stephens.

He is survived by his wife Marsha Stephens of Durango, Colo.; brothers Cecil D. Stephens of Big Springs, Texas; Gerald D. Stephens of Fowler, Colo.; children, Randy Stephens of Lake Jackson, Texas; Brett Stephens of Anadarko, Okla.; Verdana Toyekoyah of Anadarko, Okla.; Brenda Mortensen of Larkspur, Colo.; Brad Mortensen of Vancouver, Wash.; Douglas Mortensen of Manassa, Colo.; Diane Heard of San Diego, Calif.; and Melissa Anderson of Scottsdale, Ariz.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following organizations, in his name. The COPD Foundation, 2937 SW 27th Avenue, Suite 302, Miami, FL 33133; Shriners Hospital for Children at www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org , or the Arthritis Foundation at www.arthritis.org .