By Juan C. Ayllon Three years ago, my father-in-law, William John Stevenson, passed away at age 78. He had a colorful past. A truckdriver, thug, and member of the infamous Ulster Defense Association (a northern Ireland loyalist paramilitary organization) in Belfast, Ireland, he and his wife, Mary, made petrol bombs before he had a dramatic conversion experience. Turning his life over to Christ, he begged to leave on religious grounds and, miraculously, he and his family were given 48 hours to leave town unscathed. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Stevenson, Mary and their two small children, William and Isabel, traveled to Seoul, Korea, where they served as missionaries with the Brethren Church for nine years. During that time, they adopted Naomi, a special needs infant who could not walk and was wheelchair bound from early on. Eventually, Mr Stevenson moved his family stateside, where he pastored a church in Rockford, IL and went on to become an itinerant pastor with the Brethren Church. They relocated to Naperville, IL, then Tampa, Florida, where the weather was more accommodating and the state provided better healthcare benefits for Naomi. Continuing to serve from their new home base in Tampa, Florida, Mr. Stevenson became deathly ill in 2016 and, his health declining with advancing dementia, my wife, Isabel, had to place him in a retirement home roughly a year later. Then, on October 10, 2019, Mr. Stevenson passed away. On a personal note, he had a mischievous sense of humor, enjoyed driving fast (I had a few nervous moments when he drove us to the airport), and loved watching boxing. In 2010, I had the pleasure of introducing him to welterweight prospect Keith Thurman, who’d go on to win a world championship, and several years later, I took him to a regional boxing show in Indiana with his grandsons, Ryan and Connor Shaw. Known as Billy Stevenson, he was loved and cherished by many, and was survived by his wife, Mary, his children–-William Alexander Stevenson, Isabel Ayllon, and Naomi Stevenson—as well as his grandchildren—Ryan, Connor Shaw, Colleen Vravick, Andrew and Heather Stevenson, his sister Joan Orr, and a slew of great-grandchildren. Rest in Peace, Billy.
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Juan C. AyllonA writer, artist, educator and owner of Prairie Audio Man Cave, he lives with his wife, Isabel (AKA Belle), and their Goldendoodle, Liam, enjoys listening to high fidelity music and all things hi-fi at their home in the greater Chicagoland area.. Archives
May 2024
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