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Published on Wednesday, August 4, 2004
in the Pensacola News Journal
Bill Stephens of Pace stood tall when the Florida Highway Patrol gave him honorary captain's bars for his 98th birthday in 2002.
On Tuesday, state troopers mourned the loss of Stephens, 99, the patrol's oldest retired state trooper. His remains were buried at a private ceremony in Holley. Uniformed state troopers and his fellow retired state troopers attended the service for Stephens, who died July 28 after suffering a stroke.
The Florida Highway Patrol was a fledgling outfit when William Bill Stephens signed up in 1940. He was a member of the second graduating class of the patrol, which was formed in 1939.
Mr. Stephens served as district commander for the Pensacola area before he retired from the patrol as a lieutenant in 1961.
"He was one of our pioneers," said Capt. David Karasek, who now commands 57 state troopers at the Pensacola district office serving Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. "It's hard to imagine the differences and the hardships they faced. They had to stop and use a telephone just to check in."
Karasek said modern state troopers have communication as a key advantage over the days when Mr. Stephens served.
Fellow retired state trooper Mayo Harden worked for Mr. Stephens when Harden joined in 1956.
"He was a good man," said Harden, a sergeant in those days. "He was a good supervisor and treated everyone fair and square. He always treated his men like he wanted to be treated. He was good to his troops."
Anna Gallagher recalls working as a caregiver for Mr. Stephens at his home in Pace. He insisted on gardening and liked to mow his own yard, she said. Mr. Stephens told stories about his days as a trooper and as a Santa Rosa County sheriff's deputy, where he worked after he had retired from the patrol.
"He said he gave people a chance the first time. But if he saw them again, it was another story," she said. "He was a wonderful person, very intelligent and just a fine, fun person to be around."
Peggy and Roy Lay had resided across the street from Mr. Stephens in Gulf Breeze for more than 30 years. They recalled always seeing him in his later years wearing his Stetson hat, an unlit cigar propped in his mouth as he mowed the grass in his yard, a chore he undertook regularly well into his 80s.
"He didn't believe in slowing down. He was a remarkable man, a real inspiration to us younger folk on this street," said Roy Lay, 68. "He was a perfect gentleman and would do everything in the world for you."