Frederick William Stephens

Frederick William "Biggie" Stephens

September 19, 1932 - December 26, 2025

Frederick William Stephens, 93, passed away peacefully on December 26, 2025, in his home in Manchester, Maryland, with his beloved wife, Yoon, by his side.

Fred was born on September 19, 1932, in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the son of Clifton Curtis Stephens, I, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Ethel Beatrice Sorrell of Washington, D.C. who had grown up on the Twin Oaks Estate of the Hubbard family, now the de facto embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Fred then grew up on the family farm in Brookeville, Maryland, near Olney, a small town what was then the exurbs of Washington, D.C. There, his father ran a dog training business for bird hunting, laying the foundation for a childhood steeped in rural tradition and hard work. It was during those early years that Fred's older brother Ernie called him a "big shot", a teasing nickname that the family lovingly shortened to "Biggie," and the nickname stayed with him for the rest of his life.

Fred was a scholar athlete. At Sherwood High School in Montgomery County (graduating class of 1950), he led his teammates as quarterback of the football team, while achieving high scholarly marks laying the foundation for a professional career. He became the first in his family to attend and graduate from college, beginning his studies at Montgomery College before earning a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland in 1954, a testament to the strong will and determination that would define his entire life.

Following graduation from the University, Fred married his first wife, Sondra Arnold Conger, who he had met years before at Sherwood High School and where Sondra had graduated in the class of 1952. Fred answered his country's call and enlisted in the United States Navy, completing Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. He served with distinction in the Seabee Corps, achieving the rank of Lieutenant. His first duty station took him to the rugged but cold beauty of Kodiak, Alaska, where he was stationed for two years with his first wife, Sondra. He later served at the Naval Shipyards in Washington, D.C., before transitioning to civilian Federal Service. Fred dedicated the remainder of his professional career to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where he worked as a civil engineer until his retirement.

During these years, Fred moved his family and purchased farmland in Mt. Airy, Maryland, where he lived with his first wife and his parents. There, his father continued the family's hunting dog tradition under the name "Triggaland Kennels", a storied operation that counted among its clientele members of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. Fred was dedicated to operating the farmland while maintaining full-time employment at NIH for many years. Over this time, with his first wife, Sondra, he also helped raise three children, Craig, Clifton (Cliff) and Victoria (Vicky), who all grew up on the family farm.

Fred was a man of fierce intellect and depth. He was extraordinarily well-read, with a mind that ranged across subjects with ease and curiosity. He was also a gifted artist, skilled in pencil sketches and painting-creative pursuits that revealed the contemplative soul beneath his strong exterior. His artistic gifts reflected in his early career ambitions to become an architect, but he chose Civil Engineering as the pragmatic choice.

He was also a man of conscience. Fred carried a deep awareness of the world beyond his own doorstep, and though he did not travel abroad, he was profoundly globally minded, having notable awareness of global currents, politics, and events. His commitment to civil rights was not abstract; he stood among the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, bearing witness to history as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his immortal "I Have a Dream" speech. That moment, and the values it represented, stayed with him always.

Fred had a keen interest and well-known passion for family genealogy and spent many years researching and discovering branches of the Family Tree. He was preceded in death by his firstborn son, Craig Curtis Stephens, who died tragically in a car accident in 1977, a loss that never left him. He was also preceded in death by his older brother, Ernest James Stephens, who passed in childhood; his older sister, Betty Lou Phucas, of Silver Spring, Maryland; and his niece, Virginia (Ginny) Stephens, of Monrovia, Maryland.

Fred will be buried at the Stephens family plot in Pine Grove Cemetery in Mt. Airy, MD on January 2, 2026. Fred is survived by his devoted wife, Yoon Sook Lee Stephens (of Ulsan, Korea), whom he married in 1994 and who remained faithfully by his side for over thirty years until the end. Fred is also survived by his son, Clifton Curtis Stephens, II, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; his daughter, Victoria Louise Stephens, of Westminster, Maryland; his brother, Irving Ernest Stephens, of Monrovia, Maryland; and many extended family, his nieces, Andrea Phucas Melendez, Brenda Stephens Deckman of Lake Meade, PA; Diane Stephens Railing of Hagerstown, MD, and Pamela Stephens Gentel of Frederick, MD; and his nephews, Timothy Stephens, of Frederick, MD and Michael Stephens of Boulder, CO. Fred's legacy lives on in his granddaughter, Sophia Alissandra Stephens, age seven, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. She is the daughter of Clifton who carries forward the light of future generations, and who currently seems to have a flair for artistic talents, a trait we surmise must have been gifted by her grandfather.

Fred Stephens was a cerebral person, who lived a life of purpose and principle.

As was said by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on that Speech so long ago, and that Fred witnessed in person: “He hewed from the mountain of life a stone of hope-and that hope lives on in all who loved him.”

After services on Friday, Fred will be laid to rest at the Stephens' family plot at Pine Grove Cemetery.