WS Chronicle

By Felecia Piggott-Long, Ph.D. 

“Sam was a good husband, a good father, a good grandfather, and he was a good friend. When it came to me, he did everything he could to make sure I was well provided for,” said Mable Hicks Stevenson, Rev. Dr. Samuel Stevenson’s wife of 57 years.  

“He always gave me roses on Valentine’s Day, and on Feb. 14, 2025, a day after his death, a dozen roses Sam had ordered for me came to the house. I cried. It was so touching. It was so like him. He was no longer alive, but my love for him was still burning in my heart. It still is. I wanted to speak to him, but I knew I would not get a response. “We were very blessed to have been together. We spent quality time together. We had a life outside of the church, going on trips, cruises, visiting friends all over the world, even in Nigeria.” 

Reverend Dr. Samuel Stevenson, 80, was born in Bolton, North Carolina, on Aug. 18, 1944, to the late Reverend Emerson H. and Mrs. Mary E. Stevenson. His siblings include three brothers – Hilbert, Fred and George – and three sisters – Lena, Rosie and Faustina. 

Dr. Stevenson graduated from Amour High School in Riegelwood, North Carolina, in 1962. He matriculated at North Carolina A & T State University, and he graduated in 1966 with a bachelor of science degree in sociology. In 1967 Stevenson married Mable Hicks when she was studying for her master of social work degree at Atlanta University. In 1968, he graduated from Atlanta University with a master of sociology and then completed a second degree from Atlanta University – his master of social work degree in 1970. 

Stevenson worked in mental health and general health services for several years. He began working as a psychiatric social worker at Richmond State Psychiatric Hospital in Richmond, Indiana. He was a trailblazer in the task of engaging community mental health planning and implementation in Atlanta, Georgia, a cosmopolitan city. He worked for nine years as a mental health worker for the United States Public Health. What is more, he was concurrently a sociology instructor at Dekalb Community College of Dekalb County, Georgia.  

When Stevenson began studying for his master of divinity degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, his wife realized that her husband would follow the pathway of the ministry. He received his master of divinity degree in 1984. He studied further at the Theological School of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, where the degree of doctor of ministry was conferred n 1990.  

He was ordained to the ministry of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1984. From 1983 – 1984, he was a seminary student-pastor of First United Presbyterian Church in Athens, Tennessee. He returned to North Carolina in the fall of 1984 after he accepted a call to Calvary Presbyterian Church in Wilson, where he continued to serve until 1990. He began pastoring at Grace Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem in September of 1990 until he retired in 2009.  

Concurrently during this time in 2002, he served as adjunct faculty of ministry studies at Wake Forest University (WFU) School of Divinity for the next few years. While at WFU, he directed the Bridging Faith Communities project, which focused on enhancing leadership capital in African American churches and human service agencies. From 2009 until 2020, he did contract preaching at three local churches without a full-time pastor until they found a pastor. 

Dr. Stevenson also participated in community, civic, educational, ecclesiastical and social advocacy endeavors. These responsibilities include the governing bodies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), campus ministry, Forsyth Jail and Prison Ministries, the Presbyterian Interracial Dialogue, domestic violence and child abuse, the Greater Carver Road Network for Better Education, Ministers’ Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity, and many other affiliations. 

On Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, at Ross Memorial Health Care Center in Kennesaw, Georgia, at the age of 80, Dr. Samuel Stevenson entered eternal rest. He is survived by his wife of 57 years who he loved greatly, Mable Hicks Stevenson, Kennesaw, Georgia; his beloved daughter Joy S. Stafford (Ellis D. Stafford), Powder Springs, Georgia; his two grandsons, Jeffrey Samuel Stitt, Melissa, Texas; Jalon Samuel Stitt, Powder Springs, Georgia; his bonus grandchildren Michael D. Stafford, Monroe, North Carolina; and Donetra L. Stafford, Charlotte, North Carolina; his Goddaughter who always made him smile, Erica F. Carrington, Northridge, California; his loving brother and sisters, Fred Stevenson (Lena Stevenson), Baltimore, Maryland; Lena Armstrong, Brooklyn, New York; and Rosie Adams, Bronx, New York; Faustina Stevenson, Houston, Texas; his best friend since first grade, Robert Andrews, Vancouver, Washington; another close friend, Staccato Powell, Raleigh, North Carolina; longtime friend through ministry, Steven McCutcheon, Florida; a host of other relatives, several church families, and many caring friends.