William A. ‘Billy’ Stevenson

A lifelong Jamestown resident, he was born April 4, 1951, a son of the late Allen Stevenson and Hazel Stone Stevenson Peterson.

He was a 1969 graduate of Jamestown High School.

Prior to his retirement he was employed for 34 years by Alltel, where he was a proud member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 23374, serving as treasurer for many years. In addition, he owned and operated Tastee Corners and Café, Brooklyn Square Café, Stevenson Transportation, Holiday Tours and Avis Rent-A-Car at the Erie Airport.

Billy was involved in several community activities including memberships in the Salvation Army, Kidder Memorial Church, Mt. Moriah Masonic Lodge, Jamestown Shrine, Jamestown Consistory, Lakewood Rod and Gun Club, Vikings Lodge, National Comedy Center Board of Directors, American Red Cross Century Club. For several years he served as Vice President for the Jamestown Community Chamber of Commerce, Chairman for the Jamestown Riverfront Management Council, and was instrumental in working with the Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation on the annual Holiday Parade and coloring the river green for St. Patrick’s Day.

As a youth, Billy played drums for several local bands and later for the Shrine Drum and Bugle Corps. He continued to show his love of music by devoting decades to the Jamestown High School Marching Band equipment crew. Whatever the band needed, he saw to it with the help of others that it was designed and built to last. In 2018 and 2019 Bill checked off one of his “bucket list” items by marching in various parades with his son, daughter and grandsons Seth and Damon, as members of the WNY Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps.

Surviving are two children Michael (Traci) Stevenson and Stacey (Steve) Tanner both of Jamestown; grandchildren Seth, Nolan and Gracelyn Stevenson and Kanin, Damon, Trey and Stevie Tanner and former wife Nancy Zanetta Stevenson with whom he remained close, celebrating holidays and special occasions as a family.

Besides his parents he was preceded in death by a sister Sharon Caldwell and stepfather Leslie “Pete” Peterson.

The funeral will be held at 10 am Thursday in the Lind Funeral Home. A livestream of the service may be viewed at lindfuneralhome.com starting at 9:45 am Thursday

Burial will be in Lake View Cemetery.

Friends will be received from 6-8 pm Wednesday in the funeral home where a Masonic Lodge Funeral Service will be led at 6 pm.

Memorials may be made to Jamestown Band and Chorus Association, Shriners Hospital, Hospice of Chautauqua County or Kidder Memorial Church.

You may leave words of condolence at lindfuneralhome.com.