Craig Franklin Stevens

Craig F. Stevens Age 60, of Highland, passed away at his home on Jan. 21, 2011. He was born in East Liverpool, Ohio, on October 19, 1950, and he worked as a Mechanic for building maintenance for over 40 years. He is survived by his wife, Rita Stevens of Highland; daughter, Stephanie Stevens of Highland; and son, Jason Stevens, wife Leanna of Riverside; and 4 grandchildren Caleb, Macayla, Lucas and Jason Jr. Visitation will be Sunday, Feb. 6th from 4-7 P.M. at Mt. View Mortuary in San Bernardino. Funeral Services will be Monday, Feb. 7th at 10:00 A.M. also at Mt. View Mortuary, followed by Interment at Mt. View Cemetery.

Eulogy:

Craig Franklin Stevens

Born: 10/19/1950 Died: 01/21/2011

Wife-Rita Stevens

Daughter-Stephanie Stevens 28

Son-Jason Stevens 26

Daughter -in-law-Leanna

Grandchildren

Caleb-12

Macayla-8

Lucas-4

JJ(Jason Jr.)-2

Nephew-David Stevens & Family

Proceeded in death by His Father Keith Stevens, Mother Marcella and Sister Tracy Stevens

Rita and Craig met 32 years ago on the freeway. He was honking and blowing kisses and motioned for her to exit and she did. He gave her a check and she gave him a deposit slip and called her that night and been together ever since. 32 years

He loved little league and coached it for years. He was Jason’s manager from little league up until he was too old to play.

Stephanie was his baby girl. She was his cheerleader at all the baseball practices and games.

The man who gave his all taking care of his family….the man who spent every day working on something for someone else…the man who wanted nothing more than for his family to be happy, who didn’t care if his son or daughter messed up, he was there with words of wisdom to help us out. He didn’t care if his wife wanted the same chair moved to 5 different spots in the living room before she was happy, because that’s what he wanted for her to be happy and his children. He was a friend, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a grandpa and a father.

He was the most caring loving kind hearted man than anyone of us ever knew and he will missed more than he ever knew.

My Dad: by Jason Stevens

Craig Stevens…the man who convinced my mother to pull off the freeway by blowing kisses at her from his car…the man who gave his all taking care of his family…the man who spent every day working on something for someone else…the man who wanted nothing more than for his family to be happy, who didn’t care if his son or daughter messed up, he was there with words of wisdom to help us out. He didn’t care if his wife wanted the same chair moved to 5 different spots in the living room before she was happy, because that’s what he wanted…for her to be happy.

He was a friend, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a grandpa, and a father…he was my father.He was my example. He was my coach, on and off the field. Always there with advice to make life just a little bit easier. He was there the first day of school, and he was there when I graduated. He was there when I married my wife, Leanna. When life was hard he was there to tell me how to be a better husband, how to be a better Father to my children, pouring out his wealth of knowledge and experience, teaching me the easy way so I wouldn’t have to learn the hard way.

When my Dad talked, we all listened. We knew he meant business; he was there to put us back on the right track when we went astray. And when we talked, he listened. That was the best part. He was never too busy to talk when we needed him. When I had questions about work, he always had the answer. When we were both working in Montclair, we would make sure we took our lunch at the same time, just so we could have 30 minutes to be together, and I remember going home and telling my wife how great it was to just sit there with my dad. But it was never enough. I was never finished talking to my dad, I could talk to him for hours…he intrigued me.

I wasn’t finished with him…none of us were. I wanted to take him back to East Liverpool and see where he grew up, where he went to school. I wanted to finish rebuilding Mom’s oven. I wanted to have him over for a barbeque when we finished remodeling our backyard. I wanted him to be excited when I finally went back to work after being off for 6 months because of knee surgery. I wanted him to know I wasn’t going to have any more trouble with the blood clot in my lung, that I was ok. I wanted to ask him what to do with a teenage child, how to fix a broken stove. There’s still so much to experience, that I wanted to share with him…I just wasn’t done with him.

My dad was everyone’s “go to guy”. He was a knight in shining armor, he was, and is my mother’s angel. He was an amazing father. I can stand here and say without a doubt that my father was a good friend, a loving husband, a great uncle, a caring brother, an amazing Father, and a grandpa that any child would be lucky to have. He made a difference in the lives of everyone here, that’s why we’re all here today to celebrate his life. I pray that I could be the kind of person my dad was, that when I move from this life to the next people will say the same things about me that have been said about my father. And maybe even say I was just like my dad…he was a good man, he IS a source of happiness in our lives, and he will be the stories I share with my children, and the example I choose to follow to be a good father.

I love you, Dad. Rest in love until we meet again.