George Stephenson Jr.

GEORGE STEPHENSON was born February 17, 1932 in the Houston Heights to George and Lillian Stephenson. He was older brother to Bill Stephenson, and both attended Reagan High School. He attended the the University of Texas and earned a BA in Electrical Engineering. Later he attended Rice University and earned a MA in Space Sciences. The ROTC program led him into the US Navy where he trained as a Naval Aviator and was commissioned as a Lt. Commander, serving as a ASW squadron leader on the USS Yorktown 10 for two tours of the Western Pacific. He married Paula Ryall Harper on December 22, 1957. After honorable discharge from the Navy he worked sequentially at Humble (now Exxon) Oil, Rice University, NASA and supercomputing pioneer Cray Research, Inc (where he retired as Head of Petroleum Marketing). George and Paula adopted two sons, George Philip and Charles Ryall, and raised them in Houston. He is survived by his wife Paula, two sons, his daughter-in-laws Betsy and Natallia and his 4 grandchildren (Grace, Abby, Charlie and Jack). Paula and George moved from Houston to Alexandria earlier this year to be closer to their children and grandchildren. George was an accomplished sailor (winner of the Houston-Vera Cruz race in 1972), member of the Houston Yacht Club and Army-Navy Country Club, an avid fan of Texas Longhorn athletics, and with his wife Paula a lifetime supporter of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. If you had met him, you would have liked him. Memorial services will be held on Tuesday August 9, 2016 at 11 am at Demaine Funeral Home (520 South Washington Street in Old Town, Alexandria). A reception will be held afterwards at the home of Charles and Betsy Stephenson. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his name to the USS Yorktown Foundation, 40 Patriot's Point Road, Charleston, SC 29464.