Ian (born on 27 July 1947 in Brisbane) was the third son of Frederick William Stevens and the first and only child of Nance (Nancy) Alumward (née Sim) Stevens. His early years were spent in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. He attended primary school and high school in Melbourne, matriculating from Melbourne High School in 1966. After matriculation he worked for the Commonwealth Government (cartography department). During this work he became interested in drafting and learned the skills involved.
In 1973 he moved to Brisbane where he worked as a draftsman (and later computer draftsman), this being his major occupation.
He didn’t marry, vowing as a young man that he would never do so. His father died in 1966 and his mother in 1987.
He loved flying, and a qualified pilot with an Instrument Rating and Instructor’s Certificate for single-engine planes.
Click here for the full biography and links.
His half-brother, George, wrote:
“In his adult life, Ian tended to portray the image of a reserved, taciturn, non-communicative person, but in reality he was always willing to respond to requests. In his early life he showed an independence of spirit, as illustrated by the following story. [When he came] home from Sunday School one Sunday when he was about 5 years of age, my wife, Shirley, asked him where had he been. The truculent reply was ‘Dundy Gool, and I hate it.’ ‘But, Ian, why do you hate it?’ ‘Well, the teacher asked us to give her names of songs to sing, and I said “What about Mockin’ Bird Hill?” She laughed at me and said “No.” I hate her too.’”
Once, as a teenager, he went for a bike ride with a mate. When he came home, George asked him where he’d ridden. “Well, we didn’t go to Moorabbin,” was the only detail they got.
Ian was talented, ethical, reliable, kind and considerate, and used these qualities without fanfare to help others less fortunate than himself, making and adapting tools and equipment to help disabled people. He developed Parkinson’s disease in his 50s, which he managed without complaint, but it proved his undoing, when he fell between his bed and the wall and remained trapped for several days before being found. He died shortly afterwards in hospital, on 9 July 2010, a few days short of his 63rd birthday.
The following link to Ian’s life leads to a few photos, letters, CAD drawings and family trees created by Ian in CAD software.