Steve Stibbens' Obituary
On September 19, 2020, the World’s Most Interesting Man left me sitting all alone while he took off for the party of the ages. I was not invited.
My Daddy, Cecil Clay Stibbens, aka Steve, came into this world on July 12, 1936, via Dallas, Texas, the only son of Bettie and Henry Stibbens. He had an impressive career from the beginning. At the age of 5, he rode a horse-drawn cart and kept the Watermelon Man company. At 17, he joined the Marines, who put him through journalism school. He was a “writer who carried a camera” in Vietnam for Leatherneck and Pacific Stars & Stripes, then with the Associated Press. His photographs won the President’s Choice award more than once, and some of his photos ended up in the Ken Burns documentary, “Vietnam.” He was awarded the Bronze Star with a V device while chasing down some of those photos.
When he returned stateside, he stalked Lyndon Johnson all over the Texas Hill Country for the AP. Those notes and photos he shared with Robert Caro, the renowned biographer. He worked at LTV covering the Paris Air Show, ran his own commercial photography studio, worked in advertising, and technology. He wrote the book “Knights Over the Delta,” about the first combat helicopter unit in Vietnam. and ended as Director of Worldwide Photography for Texas Instruments.
You know what he told me and my Mom about his career? He told us about his friendships. He, like Will Rogers, never met a stranger. Generous to a fault, he was always there to help others, and delighted with other’s success. He counted himself among the luckiest of men.
Outside of work (and the Marines) he loved three things. He loved my Mom, Lou Ford Stibbens, the love of his life. He loved the hundreds of dogs, cats, raccoons, possums, lizards, and other critters that were part of our lives. And he loved me.
My Dad was preceded in death by damn near everyone but me, his sister, Maxine, and thousands of nieces, nephews, grand-nieces/nephews, and cousins, all loved.
Enjoy the party, Daddy! You’ve earned it, and all the best people are there. Mama, thank you for letting me keep him so long, I know you’ve missed him!
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
by Mary Elizabeth Frye
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