Phillip Stephenson Sr.

He was born August 3, 1942, in Dayton, Ohio, to Rexford B. Stephenson and Fina Craig Stephenson. He graduated from Texas Christian University and served in the United States Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer.

Phil spent most of his working life in banking, but his real vocation was under sail. Over the course of his life, he made three significant multi-year open-ocean passages with his wife and first mate, Mary, logging more than 70,000 miles across the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean aboard their 38-ft. sailboat. His two sons crewed the middle voyage, an education that no classroom could have matched. In later years, he and Mary traded sail for power and completed the Great Loop aboard their 34-ft. trawler, working their way through the coastal and inland waterways of America at a pace that suited them.

Between voyages, he raised his family in Bellingham, Washington. In the early 2000’s, he and Mary retired to St. Pete Beach, Florida, where the water was warmer and always in view.

He lived an unconventional life on purpose, and was generous about bringing people along on it. Along the way he developed several principles he lived his life by: “do everything you can to not wear shoes; it’s the risk taker that gets rewarded; and, last, when you go to sleep at night, everyone has the same size boat.”

He is survived by Mary, his wife of 57 years; his two sons, Phil Stephenson Jr. (Jennifer) and Scott Stephenson; his two grandchildren, Sawyer Stephenson and Austin Stephenson; his oldest brother, Barry Stephenson (Phyllis), and predeceased by his brother, Roger Stephenson.