STEVENS, FRANK H., JR.

1st Sgt. Frank Harold “Pete” Stevens Jr., age 78, of Milton, DE, passed away Tuesday, February 12, 2002 at the Beebe Medical Center in Lewes, DE.

Mr. Stevens was born in Chester, PA to Frank H. and Anna Balfour Stevens. At an early age he and his family moved to Wilmington, DE, then to Lewes in 1931. He graduated from Lewes High School and entered the U.S. Marine Corps. While in the Corps, he participated in the Solomon Islands Campaign (Guadalcanal) in 1942, receiving a medal for bravery on Tulagi Island. Sgt. Stevens stayed in the Marine Corps for 26 years, retiring in August 1967. During his term in the Corps he also served during the Korean War, Vietnam War and the Lebanon Civil War of 1957.

He and his family moved to Houston, TX for the next 22 years and then back to the Lewes/Milton area in 1989. Sgt. Stevens was a 32nd degree Mason with the Jefferson Lodge #15 in Lewes and the Consistory. He was also a member of the Arabia Temple Shriners from Houston, TX. He was a life member of the VFW in Missouri City, TX, the Edson Raiders, 1st Marine Raider Brigade and the Marine Corps League of Long Neck, DE, and American Legion in Lewes.

Survivors include his wife, Gladys H. B. “Hilly” Stevens; daughter, Anna Stevens of Houston, TX; son, Paul Stevens of New Braunfels, TX; daughter, Melody Stevens-Kent; 4 grandchildren; 1 great-granddaughter; and 1 great-grandson on the way. In addition to his parents, his first wife, Lela Marie Hutto Stevens preceded him in death in 1984.

There will be a funeral service 10 a.m. Saturday, February 16 at Lewes Presbyterian Church on Kings Hwy., with Rev. Harry Hughes officiating. Burial with full military honors will be held 11 a.m. Friday, February 22 in the Houston National Cemetery in Houston, TX.

Contributions are suggested to your local Marine Corps League chapter.

Arrangements by the Parsell Funeral Home & Crematorium, Lewes, DE and the American Heritage Funeral Home, Houston, TX