Frank H. Stevens

Frank was born September 11, 1943 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the son of the late Eugene and Lucille (Kapuscinski) Stevens. He married Barbara Tremayne on September 4, 1965 in Scranton, and then moved to Oneonta.

Frank worked as a salesman for the Procter and Gamble Company until he was asked to manage the Oneonta Grocery Company on Ceperly Avenue. He continued to manage the company after it was bought by US Food Service, from which he retired in 2005. After retirement he pursued numerous pastimes, foremost among them a labor of love, his work as a Master Gardener through the Cornell Cooperative Extension. Finding himself devoted to the organization and to gardening, he designed and built raised gardens, potting benches, trellises, and storage buildings. It was in his own flower garden at the edge of the woods, however, that he enjoyed spending his time the most. Frank was a strong, gentle man who left the world a prettier place.

Frank is survived by his wife, Barbara Stevens of Oneonta; his children, Seth Stevens and his partner Katarzyna Byszek, of Warsaw, Poland, and Timothy Stevens of Bluffton, South Carolina; and his beloved granddaughters, Taylor and Abby Gale Stevens, also of Bluffton.

He is also survived by his brothers and their wives, Norman and Sandy Stevens of Dalton, Pennsylvania, Roy and Pat Stevens of New Market, Maryland, and by his sister Sandra Stevens of Mexico, New York; his sister-in-law, Judy Williams; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Friends may call at the Lester R. Grummons Funeral Home, 14 Grand Street, Oneonta on Thursday, December 27, 2012 from 5 to 7 PM at which time the family will be in attendance.

Memorial contributions may be made in Frank’s memory to the Catskill Area Hospice, 1 Birchwood Drive, Oneonta, NY 13820 www.cahpc.org/ or the Master Gardeners, Cornell Cooperative Extension, 123 Lake Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326 www.cce.cornell.edu/otsego/

Condolences to the family may be made online by visiting our website at www.grummonsfuneralhome.com.

Arrangements are by the Lester R. Grummons Funeral Home, Oneonta.