Fenner Howard STEVENSON

STEVENSON, FENNER, ZIESMAN, LETTOW, SCHOLBROCK, SEYMOUR

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 11/10/2015 at 21:18:57

July 31, 1944 --- November 9, 2015

Fenner Howard Stevenson, age 71, of Boone died unexpectedly at his home in Boone on November 9, 2015. Funeral services will be Friday, November 13, 2015, at 10:30 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Boone. Burial will be in the Linwood Park Cemetery in Boone. Friends may call at the First United Methodist Church on Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. where the family will be present from 6 to 8 p.m. On Friday, visitation continues at the Church after 9 a.m. until service time.

Fenner was born July 31, 1944, in Fort Dodge, Iowa, to Howard L. and Genevieve I. (Fenner) Stevenson. He found his passions in tourism and the railway industry. Fenner was jovial, funny, hardworking, dedicated, always wore a smile, and never wanted to be too serious. He was actively involved in the Boone City Council, Pufferbilly Days, and the Boone Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau. He graduated from Goldfield High School in 1962 and was a graduate of Eagle Grove Junior College, the American Institute of Business, and the Institute for Organizational Management at the University of Oklahoma. His first employment experiences were working for banks and insurance companies in Clarion, Iowa; Great Falls, Montana; and Boone.

On June 20, 1970, he married Evelyn “Evie” R. Ziesman in Hubbard. Fenner and Evie had a custom printing business in Waverly and were active in the Chamber of Commerce there. They moved to Boone, and Fenner worked for the Boone Shopping News and was later executive director of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce.

He started as the general manager at the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad in May 1996 and was instrumental in starting dinner trains, Santa Express, Day Out With Thomas, Pumpkin Express, freight service, and had the vision for the James H. Andrew Railroad Museum & History Center. Of the city improvements during Fenner’s three tenures on the city council in Boone representing the 1st Ward, his favorite projects were the Ericson Public Library expansion and building the current swimming pool. He volunteered with Pufferbilly Days as the festival chair in 1990 and on the steering committee multiple years.

Fenner was proud of starting the Boone County booth at the Iowa State Fair and enjoyed spending all eleven days at the fair each year meeting new people. He manned booths across the state each spring at various vacation and travel shows. He was passionate about Boone County, the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad & Museum, and Central Iowa tourism.

He loved the Green Bay Packers, ISU basketball, polka music, the Milwaukee Brewers, Door County, storm chasing, home improvement projects, railroad convention trips, and a nightly bowl of ice cream. Fenner also enjoyed helping Travis decorate their home with Christmas lights during the holidays.

Fenner was preceded in death by his parents. He leaves behind his love, Evie Stevenson; a son, Travis (Marcy) Stevenson of Boone; a daughter, Jennifer Stevenson of Boone; a brother, Tom (Sandra) Stevenson of Goldfield; a mother-in-law, Emily Ziesman of Eldora; sisters-in-law Lucille Lettow of Cedar Falls, Lois (Kevin) Scholbrock of Altoona; brothers-in-law Harold Ziesman of Hudson, Steven (Vicki) Seymour of Oregon; two granddaughters, Rozzie and Maeve Stevenson of Boone; and many nieces and nephews, family, friends, and volunteers.

In lieu of flowers, please donate memorials to Iowa Railroad Historical Society in care of the Fenner Stevenson Memorial at 225 10th Street, Boone, Iowa, to keep Fenner’s dream alive. Also please consider donating your time to volunteerism.

Schroeder Memorial Chapel -- Boone, Iowa
http://www.schroedermemorialchapel.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=3375700&fh_id=10638