Obituary of John Wyatt Stevenson

Funeral services for John Wyatt Stevenson, age 70, of Roanoke will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2019, at 12:00 PM at the Roanoke First United Methodist Church with Rev. Chris Martin officiating.  Burial will follow at Cedarwood Cemetery with Quattlebaum Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 4:00-7:00 PM on Friday, February 22, 2019.  Mr. Stevenson will lie in state at the church for one hour prior to services beginning on Saturday.

Mr. Stevenson passed away Thursday, February 14, 2019, at his residence.

Survivors include his wife, Jennifer Chandler Stevenson of Roanoke; one brother, David Stevenson (Patricia) of St. Petersburg, FL; mother-in-law, Kay Merrill of Birmingham, AL; father-in-law, Terry Chandler of Albertville, AL; sisters-in-law, Laurie Huddleston (Bill) of Winchester, TN and Melinda Azar (Zack) of Montgomery, AL; brothers-in-law, Thomas L. Merrill, Jr. (Susan) of Birmingham, AL, and Win Chandler of Albertville, AL; nieces, Heather Altork of Roanoke, Larissa Ryss of Lilburn, GA, Madelyn Snow (Andrew) of Colorado Springs, CO, Emily Kay Woods of Chicago, IL, Margeaux Woods of San Francisco, CA, and Ashley Hoggle (Chris) of Guntersville, AL; nephews, Dan Stevenson of St. Petersburg, FL, Michael Woods of Denver, CO, Michael Azar and Allen Azar, both of Montgomery, AL, and Trey Merrill of Birmingham; beloved dog, Mercy, and many additional furry children.

Pallbearers will be Bill Ragle, Sr., Rodney Wright, John Hodges, Cary Manning, Bob Landers, and Tom Ziglar.

A Roanoke native, Mr. Stevenson was born on August 8, 1948, the son of John B. and Gwen Wyatt Stevenson.  He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Roanoke and was a United States Army veteran.  Mr. Stevenson held a Bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and a Master’s degree from Pepperdine University.  He was the owner/editor and publisher of The Randolph Leader for the past 36 years and past editor of the The Randolph Press(Wedowee).  He was the past president of the Alabama Press Association and the National Newspaper Association.  Mr. Stevenson was the recipient of the Alabama Press Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Auburn University’s Distinguished Alabama Community Journalist Award.  He was preceded in death by his parents and one son, J. B. Stevenson.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Randolph County Animal Shelter at 104 Animal Shelter Road, Wedowee, AL 36278 or to the Alabama Press Association’s J. B. Stevenson Scholarship c/o Felicia Mason APA Journalism Foundation, 3324 Independence Drive #200, Birmingham, AL  35209.