Peter Stephens

Peter Lester Stephens, age 59 years old, Veteran, carpenter, outdoorsman, and devoted son, died unexpectedly at the family home in the solitude that suited him best.

He was born on May 10, 1960 to James Lewis and Shirley Joan (Dutton) Stephens in San Diego, California where the United States Navy had his father stationed.  The family returned to Niles in 1968, and Peter graduated from Niles High School.  Upon graduation, he enlisted in the U. S. Navy, serving a four year tour of duty during peacetime.  He returned to Niles, and as a skilled machinist was employed in several area shops including Niles Precision Company, Inc.

Peter was also a skilled craftsman with a creative mind and a desire to build.  He made good use of the home woodshop to build furniture and toys, and he combined his machinist and woodworking skills to create scale model, fully functional radio controlled airplanes.  Those complementary skills were also valuable to assist his father with their homebuilt 30 foot sailboat which they launched in 1993 on Lake Michigan.  He enjoyed history, often watching documentaries on the History Channel, and studying about World War II.  His quiet times often found him fishing - usually at Big Smith Lake, canoeing, or stoking a campfire from his lawn chair next to the backyard firepit.

His greatest interest was his family.  He loved his nieces and nephews, and he chose to live at home to help his mother provide homecare during his father’s final illness, and then to provide homecare for his mother during her final illness.  All three of them were able to live-out their final days in the comfort of the old farmhouse that had been passed-down through many generations of the Mark family.

Pete’s dad, Jim died on Veteran’s Day, 1999, and his mom, Shirley died on June 26, 2012.  He was also preceded in death by a brother, Mark Stephens in 2011, a sister, Patricia Cushman in 2012, and a sister-in-law, Carol (Mrs. Thomas) Stephens.

Surviving family includes his brothers, Michael (& Terri) Stephens of Whitehall, Michigan, Thomas Stephens of Northfield Vermont, Willard (& Colleen) Stephens of Walker, Michigan, and Cy (& Tammy) Perkins of Rockford, Michigan; a brother-in-law, Bruce Cushman of Rathdrum, Idaho; and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

The memorial service for Peter Stephens will be at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 27, 2019 at the Halbritter-Wickens Funeral Home, 615 East Main Street in Niles with the Rev. Michael T. Smith of Niles officiating.  Committal will follow at Mission Hills.

Contributions in memory of Peter may be made to the Humane Society of Southwest Michigan Yeager Family Pet Shelter, 5400 South Niles Road, Saint Joseph, Michigan, 49085; http://humanesocietyswm.org/ .  Online condolences may be left at:

www.halbritterwickens.com

Peter had the innate ability to look at a piece of metal or a block of wood and know what useful object might be inside, and had the skill to get it out.  And while he was a quiet man who spent a lot of time at home, he always had a smile for everyone, and will be missed by those who really knew him.