William Stevenson

WILLIAM P "Bill" STEVENSON, age 68 of Springfield, VA, loving husband of Thalia Stevenson for 38 wonderful years, died on Wednesday June 27, 2012, in Centreville, VA. Bill was born on April 25, 1944, in Roanoke, VA, and is the son of the late William R. and Anna Stevenson. Bill grew up in University Park, MD, and graduated from Northwestern Senior High School in 1962. After graduating high school, Bill worked in the construction industry. He entered the United States Navy in 1964 and participated in operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica. After his naval service, he attended Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology, Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was subsequently employed by Petroleum Helicopters Inc., Lafayette, LA, as a helicopter mechanic servicing oil rig platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Later, he returned to Maryland where he continued his career in the aviation industry. Bill worked in the Marine Corps Museum for a short period of time before he joined the National Air and Space Museum (NASM). At the NASM Bill worked in the Collections Division, as a welder and fabricator in the restoration shop. He joined the staff in 1977, just after the museum opened. As such, his contributions remain in nearly every major artifact that has been restored at NASM since that time. He was a master at his craft, a diligent worker, and a great colleague to all who worked with him over five decades at NASM. Bill will be missed, but we can take some solace in the knowledge that his service to the Smithsonian contributed greatly to the preservation of the world's greatest collection of aerospace artifacts that will continue to teach and inspire many future generations. That is a legacy of which anyone can be proud. Bill was known throughout the museum and loved and respected by his co-workers. Survivors include his wife Thalia Stevenson, brother and sister in law Pandor and Deborah Hadjy and nephew Paul Clifford, sister in law Anthea Hadjy, brothers in law John and Paul Hadjy; cousin Steve Krzysko and his wife, Barbara; cousins Elizabeth Jane Humphrey and her husband, Steve; Ross Steven Krzysko, and Joanna Keith. The family will receive friends from 10AM to Noon on Saturday July 7th, at Epworth United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg, MD. Funeral Services will immediately follow at the church with Reverend Jennifer Fenner officiating. Interment will follow at George Washington National Cemetery on Riggs Road in Adelphi, Maryland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the "NASM-Collections Care Fund" c/o Finance Division at the National Air and Space Museum, Independence Avenue at Sixth Street SW, MRC 310, Washington, DC 20013-7012 in memory of Bill Stevenson.

William Stevenson

April 25, 1944 - June 27, 2012