Dr. Everett Nelson Stevens' Obituary
Grand Rapids - Dr. Everett N. Stevens, 94, of Grand Rapids, formerly of Big Rapids, passed away, Monday, October 29, 2018, at Breton Rehabilitation & Living Centre in Grand Rapids.
He was born January 25, 1924, in Waterville, Maine, the son of Carl and Leona (Gifford) Stevens, and graduated from Goodwill High School in Hinkley in 1943.
After receiving counseling and spiritual direction from his pastor, Everett joined the war effort by enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corp. He attended officer training school and became a navigator. While awaiting deployment to Europe, Everett was also able to receive the extra schooling of a medic. After VE Day Everett was sent to the Pacific Theater where he flew reconnaissance. After Japan surrendered, Everett was able to give medical care and help the Christian church in Japan before returning to the United States. In 1946, Everett received his honorable discharge.
Everett earned his undergraduate degree from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. Having been inspired by an aunt, an uncle, and a family friend who were all osteopathic physicians, Everett completed his studies at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine where he received his doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine.
Everett met his wife, Alice Fasel, while in Chicago. They married on July 25, 1953 and experienced the birth of their first child, Pam, while at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine before returning to New England to set up his medical practice.
Everett relocated his family to the Midwest where his wife's family lived, moving to Big Rapids in 1958. Dr. Stevens was in private practice in Big Rapids for over 20 years. For decades he also served the county as the Mecosta County Medical Examiner and spent time as a member of the Mecosta County Health Department. His greatest joy was in the delivery of hundreds of babies over the years. Also important to Everett were his years as an active member of the service organization, Big Rapids Rotary Club, and as a deacon at the First Baptist Church where both Everett and his wife were very active. This was followed by about 12 years as a physician at the Ferris (now Birkam) Health Center. In more recent years Everett and his wife attended Fellowship Christian Reformed Church before moving to Grand Rapids to be close to his daughter, Pam. There he attended Calvary Nondenominational Church.
Everett was preceded in death by his wife Alice in 2009 and before that by his sister, Faith. He is survived by a daughter, Pamela Atwood and her husband Paul Hatfield of Grand Rapids; a son Paul and his wife Joann Stevens of Morley; 4 grandchildren, Daniel (Rachel) Atwood, Matthias, Naomi, and Jonathan Stevens; 2 great-grandchildren, Joy and Timmy Atwood; a brother David Stevens in Maine; a brother-in-law Rev Dudley Hathaway in Kentucky; and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral service will be 3 p.m., Saturday, November 3, 2018, at the Mohnke Funeral Home in Big Rapids. Dr. Stevens's family will greet friends beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the funeral home. Burial will be in the Highland View Cemetery in Big Rapids, with military honors under the auspices of the Big Rapids American Post #98 Firing Squad. Memorial contributions in his name may be made to Mercy Ships (donate.mercyships.org), which follows the 2,000-year-old model of Jesus, bringing hope and healing to the world's forgotten poor, or Sharing the Gospel of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) inside Israel via a variety of internet sites and more. Donate at oneforisrael.org.
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