Monroe Stevens' Obituary
Monroe Stevens, 99, died Tuesday, August 26, 2025 at NorthCrest Specialty Care in Waterloo, Iowa. He was born March 15, 1926 in Quincy, Florida to James F. Kenon and Hattie Aldridge Stevens. After completing high school, Monroe enlisted in the United States Navy. He returned to Quincy in 1946, where he married Helen Campbell. In 1948, the couple moved to Waterloo with their infant daughter, Hattie Delores. To this union they had five more children: Gladys, Anthony, Gary, Gail, and Craig.
Monroe fathered two additional children, James L. Houston of Durham, North Carolina and Alexis Travis Owens of Longmont, Colorado.
Monroe later married Olivia Sims. They shared one daughter, Jeannetta, and three stepsons: Benjamin Sims of New York, Richard Sims of Waterloo, and Michael Sims of Waterloo as well as a grandson, Fredrick (CJ) Haslett, Jr., whom Monroe and Olivia raised.
Monroe was a dedicated member of Payne Memorial A.M.E. Church since 1948. During his membership with Payne, he served as a steward, choir president, choir member, van driver, treasurer of the Education Committee, and basketball coach among other duties.
He was formerly employed at John Deere and at Rath Packing Company, where he served as Union Steward and on the Safety Committee.
His community involvement in Waterloo was extensive. Monroe served the city in numerous capacities, including working with the YMCA’s youth basketball league and his efforts to connect Black churches with athletic leagues. He worked for the Boys and Girls Club of Waterloo and also at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. He was an organizer for the A. Phillip Randolph Institute, he served as a scoutmaster for children, and was the KBBG Radio parade lifetime volunteer coordinator.
Monroe was also instrumental in helping to bring KBBG Radio Station to fruition, as well as Prairie Park Apartments where he was a founding member of its board of directors. He was the President of the East Side Citizens Committee. Mr. Stevens also served on the boards of the Lily Furgerson Child Development Center and Operation Threshold. In 1972 he made history by becoming the first Black Iowan selected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
Despite his community activism, Monroe was very loving and serious, but fair. He enjoyed socializing with friends at Hardee’s and Crawford’s Laundromat and he loved barbecuing for Hy-Vee customers as well as for his friends and family.
Monroe was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Olivia Stevens; two daughters, Gladys and Jeannetta Stevens; a son, Craig Stevens; one grandson, Mark Len Holmes; two brothers, Albert and Roosevelt Stevens; three sisters, Elease Carpenter, Eula Walker, and Mary Lee Kendrick; and two sons-in-law, Manny Holmes and Howard LeFlore.
He is survived by his six children: Anthony (Tony) Stevens (Terry), Gary Stevens, James L. Houston (Lydia), Delores Holmes, Gail LeFlore, and Alexis Travis Owens (Roland). He is also survived by his sister, Bessie M. Thomas and his brother, John Turner Jr. (Rita), both of Quincy. Additional survivors include 19 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren, and 11 great-great-grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Full military rites will be conducted by American Legion Post #138 and VFW Post #1623.
The Sanders Service
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