Roll Call Tribute

Wesley MacClelland Stevens 

August 25, 1929 - June 22, 2024 

Professor Emeritus Wesley Stevens passed away peacefully on June 22, 2024, at the age of 94. Wesley was predeceased by his wife Virginia of nearly 70 years and is survived by his children Katharine (Doug), Wesley (Aili), Mark, and Greg (Darlene), and by 9 grandchildren, Cindi (Chris), Doug (Carly), Laura (Jens), Joe (Penny), Ben, Rheanna, Sam, Louis and Spencer, 3 great grandchildren, Isabelle, Kayden and Graham, and nieces and nephews Mary (Bob), Michael (Stacey), Kathleen (Brian), Beth, Jeanette (Richard), Bill and Lee (Diana).

Wesley loved studying, writing, teaching, music, travelling, entertaining, and most of all, Wesley loved his wife Virginia, who passed away only 7 weeks earlier.

Wesley was born on August 25, 1929 in Fort Worth, Texas to Wesley and Leila (Moore) Stevens. He grew up with his brother Leland and spent much time with his cousins on the nearby Moore family farm. The Stevens family moved to Bryan, Texas where Wesley was involved in music and church youth groups, and was an enthusiastic member of the local Scout troop. He graduated from Stephen Austin High school in 1946 and earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Texas A & M University in 1951. Following his mother’s example, Wesley was an activist for equal rights and soon became involved in the Methodist Christian Student Movement. In 1952, he went backpacking for 6 months in post-war Europe, and spent time at a student work camp in northern Finland. This trip opened his eyes to the cities, art, culture and people of the world.

Wesley was introduced to Ginny Winters by their mutual good friends in the Methodist Christian Student Movement. Wesley and Virginia were married on August 31, 1954, and spent a year living in Dallas before moving to New York City where Wesley studied philosophy and theology, earning a Master of Sacred Theology degree in Patristics from New York Union Theological Seminary. From 1956 until 1960 Wesley worked as the editor of the magazine "The Christian Scholar". They lived in the Greenwich Village part of New York City, and quickly became part of the activism of the time, working for freedom, openness and a true human community. During this time their children Katharine and Wesley A. were born. In 1960, they moved to Georgia, where Mark and Gregory were born. Wesley worked as a student lecturer at Emory University’s Oxford and Atlanta campuses.

To complete his Ph.D., Wesley moved his young family to Europe for two years. Living on a student budget with four children under the age of 8, Wesley and Virginia spent the summers travelling from city to city in a VW bus, camping to save money while Wesley spent his days studying ancient manuscripts. They returned to Emory University, where Wesley received his Ph.D. in History in 1968.

At Emory, Wesley became involved in efforts to end racial inequality, joining the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) as an ally. One day he invited his friend, Dr. Lois Moreland, to become the first black visiting lecturer at all-white Emory University. He describes taking her for lunch in the cafeteria, to the shock of some of the students, and then walking down the hall to his classroom, followed by a growing crowd of allies. 

In 1968, Wesley took a job at University of Winnipeg and moved to Canada, becoming a tenured professor in History, specializing in the history of medieval science and technology. Among many other accomplishments, he discovered the earliest known European use of “0” for zero. Two of his biggest projects involved compiling databases of medieval history. One of these, a “dictionary of dictionaries” of Latin scientific and technical terms, will be available shortly at lexicalatina.org. His research was supported by many foundations and agencies, including the Canada Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the U.S. National Endowment for Humanities, and the Fulbright, Danforth, and Humboldt foundations. 

Professor Stevens retired from teaching in 1994, and was an avid proponent of the University of Winnipeg faculty pension fund for many years. He continued to research and publish prolifically, working out of an office in St. Paul’s College in the University of Manitoba, and often having lunches in the cafeteria with the “Come and Go” group. His most recent publication was earlier this year: a chapter on “Medieval science in daily life” in a colleague’s book.

Wesley Stevens was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was an accomplished historian. He was a passionate man, who throughout his life worked for equality. We will miss him and his storytelling around the table. Rest In Peace Dad!

The funeral service will be held on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at the Neil Bardal Funeral Centre, 3030 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg.