Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Don C Stephens, a 100-year-old veteran, celebrated his birthday on Oct. 12.
- He served eight years in the Navy during WWII and the Korean War.
- Stephens will be honored at the Utah Centenarian Veteran Celebration on Nov. 6.
LEEDS, Washington County — Being 100 years old feels the same as being 99, except you get a lot more attention — at least according to veteran Don C Stephens.
Stephens turned 100 on Oct. 12 and has been busy celebrating the occasion with family in Grand Junction, Colorado. Instead of the usual family reunion, his family threw a birthday party.
"It was a big deal. He's got 104 descendants, including spouses, and I think just about all of them were there," Stephens' youngest daughter Janet Humpherys said. They celebrated with the typical birthday cake, but also included pumpkin pie — Stephens' favorite dessert.
"He's pretty amazing. He can do anything; he is perpetually cheerful, the most optimistic person I've ever met. He never says a bad thing about anybody. He's smart and educated and he's just a sweet guy," Humpherys said.
In 1943, at age 17, Stephens enlisted in the U.S. Navy to avoid being drafted into the Army. He served for five years through the end of World War II, then rejoined the Navy when the Korean War began.
Stephens served a total of eight years in the Navy, and Humpherys said she thinks it never occurred to her father not to serve.
"It's just what you did," she said.
Before the birthday bash, Stephen got to ride in the same type of bomber plane he had flown in when he was serving. Stephens also had the honor of participating in the pinning ceremony for his great-grandson, who was recently promoted to the rank of sergeant in the Army.
On Nov. 6, Stephens will be honored at the state Capitol rotunda as part of the Utah Centenarian Veteran Celebration.
Stephens said it's because of veterans that this country has stayed free.
"It's an honor to serve your country, and you serve the best you can. You know going in that some aren't coming back, but you do it anyway. It's what we do to show our appreciation for our freedom," Stephens said.
Born and raised in the Riverdale area, Stephens attributes a lot of his success in life to A. Parley Bates, a school principal who helped him take early morning college classes at then-Weber State College during his senior year of high school. One of those classes was electronics, which gave Stephens an upper hand in the Navy, as he knew how to work the radios and set him on a career in avionics.
"It affected his whole career and he has often said every little thing you do affects your future. It was a small thing, but it affected his whole life: his career, his military experience, everything. That was a big deal to him," Humpherys said.
Now living happily retired in Leeds, Stephens said he has learned a lot throughout his lifetime.
"Things will always be better in the morning. Always. Just go home, rest your mind," he said.
But the biggest thing he has learned in his life is that "family is everything."
"I'm still learning from him to never judge ... and to just appreciate things and meet people where they are. He just accepts things and he's just so dang cheerful it's almost disgusting sometimes," Humpherys said.
"This is a lot of fuss just for being 100. All I did was eat and sleep and wake up every day," Stephens said.
