Will Osborn Stevenson, age 86 years, of Kingwood Township, NJ, died on Sunday, June 27, 2021, at Hunterdon Medical Center, Raritan Township, NJ.

Born in Pittsburgh, PA, March 20, 1935, son of the late Livonia Chittendon Osborn Stevenson and John C. Stevenson, Sr., Will spent his very early years in Thornburgh, PA, and was raised mainly in Clinton, PA. He would move to Elizabeth, NJ for work as a young man and as he began a family of his own, he and his beloved wife, Dottie, bought a farm in Kingwood Township, NJ, lovingly named ‘Wildorland’, where they have resided for the past forty-five plus years.

Will’s story is one of hard work, community service, a genuine love of family and friends, and a grateful humility of life given by a good and loving God.

Raised in rural Pennsylvania, Will was brought up on a family farm where he had a natural appreciation of the land and of the majesty of nature. He was mechanically inclined at a young age, and it was fixing farm equipment as a child that helped develop his reputation as a man who could fix anything! He would go on, after serving in the United States Navy and being honorably discharged in 1958, to work as a Field Service Specialist for the medical equipment company Beckman Instruments, a job he held for his entire career.

Community service was also driven into Will’s soul from an early age as he served as a lifeguard at Clinton Lake during his teenage years. This job was also one of fate, as it was there, when a young lady named Dorothy Cecilia Hughes’s bathing suit strap broke, that Will would come to her rescue and help tie her bathing suit up with the string holding his lifeguard whistle; needless to say with that whistle strap Will not only tied her bathing suit, but the two tied their hearts together and they would eventually be married at St. Columbkille Church, Imperial, PA on June 24, 1961. Last week they celebrated sixty amazing years of marriage, a feat that they were both very proud of and attribute to simple loving and respecting the other.

Dottie and Will’s union would bring them a daughter, Deborah, and a son, Will, Jr., who both fondly remember their father as an eternal optimist whose positivity was infectious. He was their role model for being good parents themselves, and always had a ‘good word’ for everyone. He instilled in them the values of community service and hard work, especially during Christmas season, as their farm served as a source of Christmas Trees for many in the community.

Having many interests in addition to hard work and making sure ‘Wildorland’ was successful, Will’s desire for community service never faded from his childhood years. Upon moving to Kingwood, he got involved with the Kingwood Township Fire Company, Station 16 Fire, where he is a Life Member, having served for more than forty-four years. He served in many capacities in that organization, including as both Treasurer and Secretary. He is also credited with being a mentor to many younger fireman over the years.

Will was also an avid softball player since his childhood, and was a longtime member of NJ Jaguar Senior Softball club, earning the nickname ‘The Rookie’ by his teammates as he was known in the league as the home run king. He helped lead the team to several national and world title championships over the years and was always proud of the teamwork the club and the league showed.

In addition to the fire company and softball, Will enjoyed collecting stamps and coins and was known to always have a cup of coffee in his hand, often refereeing to java as the, “…nectar of the Gods!” He loved to eat, and could polish off many plates of oysters and shrimp in one sitting; no matter the meal though, it had to end with a piece of cherry pie!

His faith was the grounding point in his life, and he was a longtime member of Calvary Episcopal Church, Flemington, NJ. Though saddened by the lack of his physical presence, his family takes heart that, as is found in 2 Corinthians 5, to be absent from the body is to be home with the Lord. It is also of no doubt to them that Will heard the words, ‘Well done good and faithful servant’ at the time he was called home. So though he will be missed terribly, his legacy endures in the hearts of all know knew him, and are loved by him.

In addition to his parents, Will was preceded in death by a brother, John C. Stevenson, Jr., earlier this year.

Surviving are his wife, Dorothy Cecilia Hughes Stevenson; a daughter and son-in-law, Deborah and Vincent D’Alessio; a son, Will Osborn Stevenson, Jr.; a brother, Sherwood Stevenson; his grandchildren, Jimmy D’Alessio, Nick D’Alessio, Cecilia Stevenson, Will Osborn Stevenson III, Edward Stevenson, and Samual and his wife, Shayne Stevenson; a great granddaughter, Sarai Lynn Stevenson; his dogs, Mr. Buttons and Snowflake; several nieces, nephews, and extended family; and many dear friends.

Will will lie in repose on Friday, July 2, 2021 from 11:00 a.m. -12:45 p.m. in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

A Kingwood Township Volunteer Fire Company memorial service will take place at 12:45 p.m. with a walk through by all departments attending. This will be followed by a life celebration service at 1:00 p.m. at the funeral home and to which all are welcome.

Interment with military honors will take place privately at a later date at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, Newtown, PA.

Realizing that some people may be unable to attend the services in person, the last fifteen minutes of the visitation at the funeral home, the fire department service and the life celebration service will be live-streamed beginning on Friday at 12:30 p.m.; the following link allowing you to be a part of all the services virtually: please click HERE to watch (kindly ensure that you do not have a pop-up blocker installed).

You are encouraged to visit Will’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of his life.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Will are asked to make a contribution in his memory to the Kingwood Township Volunteer Fire Company, via mail to P.O Box 99, Baptistown, NJ 08803, on online by clicking HERE.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”