Thomas (Tom, Tommy) James Stevenson, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, peacefully passed away on Monday, May 27, 2024, at his home in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma. Surrounded by the love of his family and his cherished wife, Ann, Tom's final days were spent in the comfort of his own home.

Tom was born June 6, 1945, in Playa del Rey, CA to Thomas Turnbull and Dorothy Lasell Stevenson. As a young man, he enjoyed surfing with his friends and pestering his sister, Jan. His father worked at 20th Century Fox in Hollywood, and while visiting his dad at work, Tom was kissed on the cheek by Marilyn Monroe, a kiss he would never forget.

After graduating from Huntington High School in Los Angeles, he joined his sister Jan in Aspen, Colorado, where he became a ski instructor while he also worked & performed at the famed Crystal Palace dinner theater. It was in Aspen that he attended flight school, became a pilot, and met his first wife, Karleen (Ki) Hicks and the two would marry in 1965.

After receiving his pilot's license in 1967, Tom earned his hours flying for Aspen Airways, Voyage Aviation and Hot Line Air before accepting a full-time position as Captain for frozen food and real estate magnate Jeno F. Paulucci (Chun King, Jeno's Pizza, Michelina's Frozen Food) in Minnesota after settling there with Ki and their children. This would take Tom all over the world, flying executives and Paulucci family members throughout Europe, South America, and every corner of North America.

In 1978, an unfortunate accident caused Tom's eardrum to burst in-flight which left him, at the time, unable to be medically cleared as a pilot. Although being permanently grounded was sad for Tom, he quickly refocused his efforts and became the Director of Aviation for the Paulucci air operations, supervising and training many young pilots.

During the 1980's he earned his Real Estate Brokerage license and managed the Paulucci holdings in Minnesota and Florida. He and Jeno worked closely together to develop Heathrow, one of the first large upscale residential communities in Seminole County, Florida. Tom would lead the incubation and development of Heathrow and his creativity and tenacity would drive this project from a mere pen & ink concept to a fully functioning community with international reach, attracting high-profile and celebrity residents as well as drawing in international business partners such as Dixon Ticonderoga, GM / Pontiac, and AAA's national headquarters among many others.

As President of Heathrow Land & Development, Tom founded Heathrow Realty before moving on to become the President of Operations for the Country Club & Racquet Club at Heathrow. Tom attracted the talents of tennis greats, Vijay & Ashok Amritraj, Stefi Graf, and newcomer, Andre Agassi along with A-list Hollywood celebrity talents of the time, Robin Leach, Eric Estrada, Janet Jones and more to participate in the Royal Tennis Grand Prix Celebrity Pro/Am tournament at Heathrow's Racquet Club.

Tom made it his mission to foster a sense of pride and responsibility in the community and created the position of Government Liaison within the Paulucci organization to support renovations of local Seminole High School and many of the local primary and secondary schools associated with the high school. New programs were created focusing on the arts and an exploration into standardized testing to help create an equal education for all.

Soon after, Tom would marry Ann Waters Neiswender, and they would spend the next 33 years devoted to one another. Together, they supported initiatives to raise the community through civil service and helped influence and evolve local, state, and national policy makers.

In 1992, Tom and Ann ventured to Aspen, Colorado, where they established successful businesses, including the personal concierge agency "At Your Service" and the partnership "Stevenson & Stevenson Realty."

Upon retirement in 2004, Tom and Ann moved to Oklahoma, far away from the urban hustle, where Tom became a cattleman and a beekeeper. He enjoyed raising their small herd of Polled Herefords and his thousands and thousands of bees. He also enjoyed building and flying radio-controlled airplanes with his brother-in-law, Joe Waters and father-in-law, Henry Waters. He and Ann are members of the Community Free Will Baptist Church of Pickett.

Tom was a joyful, kind man, who appreciated the many God-given gifts that he received in life. He began every day with the promise of a new start. He was a student of life, studying a broad range of interesting topics and sharing his many talents.

Tom is survived by his wife, Ann Stevenson; three sons and their spousal partners: Bradley Stevenson and Jenny Ellerkamp (Arvada, Colorado); Timothy Stevenson and Lori Simunek-Stevenson (Idyllwild, California); and Thomas 'Tommy' Stevenson and Amy Gunzenhauser-Stevenson (Thousand Oaks, California); two daughters, Blanca Aguirre (Altamonte Springs, Florida), and Susan Black Leubscher; his fellow 'Bad Boy' and son-in-law George Leubscher (Pontotoc County, Oklahoma); one sister Jan Gordon (Ft. Myers, Florida); brother- and sister-in-law Joe and Oma Waters (Pontotoc County, OK): six grandchildren, Michael Leubscher, Tyler Savoy-Stevenson, Dakota Feathers, Mackenzie Stevenson, Jasmine Aguirre, and Isabella Aguirre; and three great-grandchildren, Drakon, Mina, and Serafina.

Tom will be fondly remembered by all who knew him. His family will commemorate his life with a memorial pecan tree to be planted on the Little Waters Farm later this year. The date and time of the memorial service and tree planting celebration will be announced by his family later this Summer.

In lieu of flowers and sympathy gifts, the family has asked that donations to the Free to Live Animal Sanctuary or Pancreatic Cancer Action Network be made in Tom's honor