Leonard Stevens

Leonard Edward Stevens, age 90, a longtime resident of Pitman NJ, died peacefully on March 20, 2023 in Moorestown NJ. Len was born September 28, 1932. He grew up in Audubon and graduated from Trenton State College in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in education. Len served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1954 to 1956. He later received a master’s degree from Rutgers University, Camden, in 1960. An educator his entire life, Len taught in Aura for two years before coming to Pitman. He met his wife Kathy (nee Kathleen O’Halloran) in 1958. Kathy was a teacher in Pitman High School, and her younger brother Charlie was a student in Len’s sixth grade class. Impressed with his ex-Marine teacher, Charlie found a way to bring his sister and his teacher together. The matchmaking worked. Len and Kathy were married in 1960. Their happy marriage lasted till Len’s death in 2023. After seven years as a Pitman teacher and six as a guidance counselor, Len became first principal of the newly formed Pitman Middle School. After fourteen years at the Middle School, Len was asked to assume the role of principal at Pitman High School. He retired nine years later, in 1994. Len and Kathy lived in the same home in Pitman for over 52 years and raised their three children there. They were parishioners at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Pitman. Len was a member of the Knights of Columbus and Rotary and served on the Board of McCowan Memorial Library. During retirement years Len and Kathy enjoyed plays and visits to Philadelphia museums. They also traveled frequently. Their first trip abroad included a week in a thatched-roof farmhouse in England. Twenty-four years later, their final trip took them back to England for a stay in an apartment in Oxford. Len spent satisfying hours working in their yard. He took great pleasure in time spent with his eleven grandchildren. In 2015 Len and Kathy left Pitman, with regret, and moved to Moorestown NJ in order to be closer to their children. Len was a loving, devoted husband to Kathy and a proud father of three children. He was an optimist with a great sense of humor, remembered by his grandchildren for his famous chocolate milkshakes and the five-dollar bills he gave out on the Fourth of July to any grandchild who could recite the Preamble to the Constitution. He is survived by his wife Kathy, daughter Mary Beth Swindells (Rupert), daughter Barbara Stavetski (David), son Larry Stevens, eleven grandchildren and one great-grandson. He is predeceased by his parents, Anna and Lawrence Stevens, and his older brother, Lawrence Stevens. The family will remember and celebrate Len privately. Should you wish to make a donation in Len’s name, please choose any charitable association that is meaningful to you.