Carl Millard Stephens, Jr., a forty-six-year resident of the Champions area of Houston, died peacefully at home October 10, 2019, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

Carl was born August 7, 1934, in his home in Shreveport, Louisiana to Carl Millard and Bernice (Bradford) Stephens.  He was the third child of four.  He spent his childhood years in Shreveport and graduated from C.E. Byrd High School in 1952.  Carl then attended Centenary College in Shreveport where he graduated in 1956.  Carl was a member of the ROTC in both high school and college, and after graduation he accepted a commission as a 2 ^nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves.  He was called to active duty for two years, where he served in the Ordnance Corps at Ft. Polk.  He then returned to reserve status and served for another twenty years, ultimately retiring as a Lt. Colonel in 1978.

While in college, Carl met Genevieve Palmer.  They were married June 7, 1957 after she graduated from Centenary.

After completing active duty, Carl went to work for United Gas in Shreveport as a systems analyst.  United Gas was acquired by Pennzoil in the late 1960s, and Carl and his family relocated to Houston in 1973 as Pennzoil consolidated operations.

Carl was a very active lay member of John Wesley United Methodist Church in Houston, where he served in many capacities on the administrative board (including serving as board chairman), council of ministries, stewardship committee, and staff-parish relations committee.  He was also a long-time usher for regular church services.

Carl loved to hunt, to fish, and woodworking.  He built a vacation home on Lake Livingston to accommodate the first two, and a well-equipped shop to support his third hobby.

Carl was preceded in death by his wife of sixty years, and by his older sister Doris.  He is survived by his brothers Harry and James, his sons Carl Millard Stephens III and Alan Palmer Stephens, and their spouses Dawn and Tracey, and his grandchildren Adam, Daniel, Jenna, Katherine and Connor.