Celebrations of life are planned in Valdez, Fairbanks, and Anchorage for Stan Stephens, a pioneer in the Alaska tourism industry, and one of the chief architects of increased citizen oversight following the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Stephens, 78, passed away, Sept. 21, in Valdez -- a coastal city in Southcentral Alaska and the terminus of the 800-mile-long trans-Alaska pipeline.
On Oct., 4, a memorial service will be at the Valdez Civic Center at 4:15 p.m. Celebrations of life will be held in Fairbanks on Oct. 18, and in Anchorage a day later.
In life, the 6-foot-5-inch Stephens was a towering figure, both on the streets and in the tourism and environmental communities. Stephens started a marine fishing and tourism service in 1971, which evolved into Stan Stephens Glacier and Wildlife Cruises. He regularly captained the 60-to-80-foot-long boats that took hundreds of thousands of tourists and Alaskans through the spectacular sights of Prince William Sound.
"He has been the portal through which people have seen the beauty of Prince William Sound," said Rick Steiner, a biologist and friend of Stephens. "That would be a huge contribution in itself to people's sense and desire to protect one of the last wild places in Alaska. But for Stan, that was just a part of his impact," Steiner said.
Stephens was also an active environmentalist and conservationist for the Sound. Following the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill -- which dumped 11 million gallons of crude into Prince William Sound -- Stephens dedicated his life to protecting marine environments of the Last Frontier. Stephens helped form the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council, and was a four-time president of that group, which gives coastal residents a voice in use of the region's marine resources.
But through all Stephens' accomplishments, friends and business associates remember him as a resolute yet approachable figure. His tall, lanky build was offset by a signature white chin-strap beard and an affable smile.
"He was the Abraham Lincoln of Valdez," said Scott McMurren, an Alaska travel advisor and columnist at Alaska Dispatch, who worked with Stephens. "He was an unflappable evangelist for Prince William Sound."
Stephens is survived by his wife of 49 years, Mary Helen Stephens, and daughters, Carrie Nash, Jenna Stephens and Colleen Stephens, who now runs the family business.
"My father was brutally honest at times. You never had to question where he stood," Colleen Stephens said. "But, from when he was a young child, all the way through his last breath on Saturday, he respected everyone."
Contact Sean Doogan at sean(at)alaskadispatch.com