Dean T. Stephens

DEAN T. STEPHENS January 14, 1923 - May 29, 2010 How can we explain in words the essence of Dean T. Stephens? His charisma, vitality, intelligence, talents, humor and the love of his children and grandchildren only touch the surface of what made this fascinating man. Although at times, he had strong opinions, he could be abrupt and he sometimes had a short temper, he was always humble, finding it hard to accept the praise he deserved. He sought answers to his and the world’s difficulties, eventually finding peace with the teachings of the Tibetan Buddhists. He was a man known and revered by many, who will be keenly remembered for his enthusiasm for life, unique perceptions and love of family, friends and nature. At age 87 years, Dean passed away peacefully in Ventura, with his daughters, Valerie and Lisa, and son-in-law, Rich, by his side. Dean grew up in and near Blackfoot, Idaho, the first child and only son of Raymond E. Stephens and Eloise G. Thompson Stephens. His father was a decorated World War I veteran who instilled in Dean his love of our country and true patriotism. He probably inherited his strong will and perseverance from both sides of his Mormon great-grandparents, who trekked across America with Brigham Young. He showed an early musical talent, playing the guitar, banjo and harmonica. His abilities with anything wood started when at 13 years old, with the occasional guidance of his grandfather, he built a log cabin which he then lived in on his parents’ property. The cabin is still in existence today. Because of his father’s inspiration, when he was 16, he joined the U.S. Army. His father soon brought him home, as Dean had told the Army he was older than his age in order to join. Dean then finished high school, graduating from Blackfoot High School in May 1941. He immediately joined the U.S. Marine Corps in Salt Lake City. During World War II, he trained as a radio operator, learning Japanese code and then translated the Japanese code into English Morse code in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was on Guadalcanal from December 1942 until February 1943, when he sustained permanent injury to his back and neck after being blown out of a foxhole. He also contracted severe malaria and yellow jaundice. His recovery for these injuries and illnesses lasted eight months in a New Zealand hospital. The malaria gave him problems for many years and he remained in pain for the next 67 years. When he was asked over the years how he could continue to work so hard, he would say that working was the only way he could forget his pain. Dean married Mabel Newcomer, in California, on September 16, 1943. Their son was born in January 1945 while Dean was stationed on a beach in Oceanside, California. The training on that beach consisted of being taken way out in boats, and then they would have to swim back to shore. They were training to land on the beach in Japan. After contracting an allergic skin condition, he was in a naval hospital for a month. He then returned to Camp Pendleton after getting out of the hospital to rejoin his company, but the training had been so top secret, he was told that there was no such company in existence. The Marines sent him over to Pearl Harbor just before the war ended. Dean was Honorably Discharged as a Staff Sergeant on November 5, 1945. He and Mabel then moved to Blackfoot, Idaho where he built their first home. Under the G.I. Bill, he was an apprentice to a furniture maker. He later said, “That was the best money the government ever spent. I’ve taught apprentices all during my career.” Dean was an exceptionally talented finish carpenter, as proved by the building of their home and many other projects in that area. In 1947, their first daughter was born in Blackfoot. In 1951, he moved his family to Arco, Idaho, to help his parents in their dry cleaning business. He built his family another home there and had a cabinet shop. Two more daughters were born in Arco in 1951 and 1952. Making a living in the small town of Arco became difficult, so in 1953 Dean moved his family to Alameda, California. In Alameda, he worked for a woodworking business. A fellow woodworker was building boats there. Always fascinated with the sea, Dean became increasingly interested in sailboats and boatbuilding. He bought a book on building boats and eight months later, he built his first boat, an 18-foot sloop, a Picaroon, designed by Sam Rabl, which Dean named Fair Dinkum. He learned to sail the Fair Dinkum in the San Francisco Bay, taking his family on sailing adventures up the Russian River and around the Bay Area. He met and made lifelong friends in the harbors in the area and all up and down the coast. He was soon anxious to build another boat. After selling the Fair Dinkum, he and his family began the huge task of building a 34-foot gaff-rigged ketch, a Jonquil, designed by William Atkin. Dean worked in woodworking during the day and in the backyard on the boat at night and on weekends. Two and a half years later, in 1962, the Charity was completed and launched at the harbor in Alameda. On May 10 that year, Dean moved his family onto the boat and sailed for Morro Bay, California. They spent the next eight or more years sailing up and down the coast, including a three month cruise to Hawaii, leaving on July 5, 1965 from Long Beach and arriving back to Sausalito at the end of September. The family took a six-month cruise to Acapulco in 1967-68. They sailed the Charity through numerous near hurricanes and were even out at sea during the Alaska earthquake tsunami of 1964. In “A Designer’s Philosophy,” John Atkin (son of William Atkin), wrote “As my friend Dean Stephens writes regarding his Charity, . . ., ‘Sometimes her skipper wasn’t too efficient, but she took care of us just the same. There is much to be said for a forgiving vessel when the going gets so rough the crew has exhausted their experience and can’t think of what to do next.’” When building the Charity, Dean’s dream was to sail with his family to New Zealand. Unfortunately, that dream wasn’t fulfilled. All during this time, in and around cruising on the Charity, Dean became an increasingly well-known master shipwright in the building of traditional wood sailboats, working mainly out of Morro Bay, Sausalito, San Francisco and Santa Barbara. He worked for the San Francisco Maritime Museum, helping with the first restoration of the steel-hulled, 301 foot, sailing ship (originally built in 1886 in Scotland), the Balclutha. The Balclutha is now a National Historical Landmark. He built a 44-foot sailing yacht, the Reliance, for David Hamilton in Santa Barbara. Dean also became an author, penning many articles for the WoodenBoat Magazine. In addition, he loved to write novels and short stories. A favorite was, “Clark and Mr. Dog.” Dean and Mabel divorced in 1971. Dean moved to Fort Bragg, California, where he continued to work on and build boats. He married Joanne McAdams, and he, Joanne and her three children lived on the Abalobadiah Ranch, near Fort Bragg. On the ranch, Dean began teaching 22 young men and women, including his daughter, Lisa, her husband, Jackie Hofmann, and his stepson Alex. This was a two-year program. While the students lived and worked on the ranch, he taught them how to build traditional wood sailboats, furniture, and how to manage a farm and live off and care for the land. He was one of the original proponents of taking as little as possible from the land, and giving back in a sustainable way. His students lived and worked there with him and his family, building five boats, several houses and all kinds of furniture, including coffins! “Welcome to Hard Times,” a sign posted at the ranch, said it all, as they worked until 10:00 every night. Carrying on tradition in the true spirit, one of the boats he built there was a felucca, Matilda, which he built from old photographs and talking to retired elderly Italian anglers. A felucca was a small sailing craft originally used on the Nile. The Matilda is being stored in the San Francisco Maritime Museum’s Alameda warehouse. In the spring of 1978, it was time for another change in his life, so Dean and Joanne bought 40 acres near Portage, Wisconsin. He built a small cabin to live in while building their unique dream home. It took six years, felling the trees, logging, milling and cutting into timber from the land, forming the bricks, laying wood flooring and designing and making the cabinets and furniture. The home was a masterpiece, with solid arched butternut-paneled front and back doors, French doors, and casement windows with stained glass arched tops. He and Joanne had a fenced garden, and planted an orchard. At the same time, he built two boats in a barn nearby. Dean traveled to Massachusetts for a month each spring to work on boats to help bring in money for the house. They began to feel a need to return to California to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Also, Dean’s WWII injuries continued to plague him, so the winters in Wisconsin became harder each year. Therefore, in 1986, he and Joanne moved back to Fort Bragg onto the Ross Ranch where they were caretakers. He continued boatbuilding, building three more boats. He and Joanne divorced and Dean moved into town in Fort Bragg in 2002. No longer able to work, his health began to deteriorate in 2005. In October of that year, his children moved him to Carpinteria and then Ventura to the home of his daughter, Lisa. He continued to live in her home until his passing on May 29, 2010. Dean was preceded in death by his son, Gary Ray in 2008, and his granddaughter and grandson, Shannon Rae and Kelly Logan Brown in 1974. He is survived by his three daughters, Valerie Brown (husband Kent), of Ventura, Vicki Stephens (husband David Lishan), of Clearwater, FL, and Lisa McCombs (husband Rich), of Ventura; his daughter-in-law Brooke Stephens, of Carpinteria; his sister Lois Techick (brother-in-law Ed), of Idaho Falls, ID; seven grandchildren, Zackary Vogel, Maya Kim, Selena Kelley, Renae Hofmann, Ryan Brown, Devin Brown and Casey Brown; eight great-grandchildren, Aric Vogel, Kyle Vogel, Victoria Kelley, Kaela Kelley, Connor Kelley, Rhowan Kim, Lillikoi Brown, and Genevieve Brown (born May 29, 2010); his stepchildren, Alex Stephens, Greg Stephens and Michelle Tobin. His ex-wives Mabel O’Rork and Joanne Stephens, both of whom always remained his friends, also survive him. As quoted in a Mendocino County newspaper article written about him in 2005, by Debbie L. Holmer, “Dean has a gentle, kind, and graceful manner . . . .” A friend also said of Dean, “He is a little man with a big heart—a living angel who is always there for those he cares about.” Dean brought not just happiness and love into our lives, but knowledge, excitement, and strength of character, too. He knew he would live on in his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and our hearts are lighter because that knowledge gave him peace in his last days. The care and love he received these past three years in his daughter’s home both enhanced and extended his life. The family wishes to thank Dr. Ilona Sylvester and staff of Oxnard VA Community Clinic for their excellent medical and emotional support, Dean’s caregiver, Martha Ruiz of Helping Hands Assisted Home Care, for her kindness, gentle manner and friendship these past weeks, and Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice, Ventura, and Perez Family Funeral Home, for their support and help. Please consider memorial donations in Dean’s name to the World War II Memorial (1-800-639-4992); Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice, Ventura; or, the Flag Project in Ventura (647-3524). A memorial celebration in Dean’s honor will be held at Shoreline Park, Santa Barbara, Saturday, July 10, 2010. Call 805-746-5585 for details.