Posted on 02/08/2018
Gerald E. Stephenson (March 26, 1946 January 28, 2018)
On January 28th, Gerald Edward Stephenson, 71, drifted free of this life. He is survived by the steadfast love he built with Marion, his wife and partner of 42 years, and by his off-kilter sense of humor which lives on in his two sons, James and Charles, who remember their last conversations with him ending in scatological jokes. Though Marion shared that sense of humor, she's less amused that he made good on his joke to die the month after they cashed out their life insurance. He is survived by his habit of "puttering" in the kitchen after dinner, as both sons find themselves tidying up at home even when the rest of the family has settled in to relax. He lives on in the lessons he taught us, through word and action. We remember and share his curiosity, and his dissatisfaction with easy answers. He tried to teach us balance, encouraging Marion to find ways to "to nothing," while showing his sons how to "do everything." He could solve just about every problem with scrap wood and duct tape, always valuing function over elegance. He taught us tenacity, never backing down from a challenging crossword puzzle, sudoku, or KenKen. Despite all these cherished pieces he has left with us, he leaves behind an emptiness, a space where there should be laughter, an absence where there should be a body puttering away, playing at being an old grouch while secretly enjoying the world more than he would admit. He leaves behind a hole in all our hearts filled with sorrow and a place in all of us filled with love. The family will be receiving friends at The Unitarian Universalist Church of York in the Carriage House at 925 S. George St., on Saturday, February 3, 1 to 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Alzheimer's Association.
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