Big Bear Lake, San Bernardino County, CA Published in the "Big Bear Grizzly" File uploaded 15 Feb 2005 This file is part of the California Tombstone Project http://www.rootsweb.com/~cemetery/californ.html Elizabeth Ann "Liz" Stevens January 27, 1921 - January 14, 2005 A celebration of life for Elizabeth Stevens will be held at 1p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29 at Calvary Chapel in Big Bear Lake, Calif. with the Rev. Paul Reeves officiating. Liz's family welcomes all who loved her to join them in her remembrance, and share fellowship with them at a reception to follow. Cremation rites have been held. At her request, her remains will be distributed at sea. Liz was born in Berkeley, Calif., the daughter of Margretta and John C. Ludwick. She died at her home in Big Bear City after a brave battle with cancer. She was raised in west Lost Angeles, attended University High School and UCLA. In 1940, she married Thomas L. Stevens of Pasadena. They were divorced in 1965. In her young married years, while her husband served in the Pacific, she taught typing to soldiers bound for active duty in WWII. In 1945, her first son Greg was born. Soon afterward, the Stevens family purchased a house in Westchester, another suburb of Los Angeles. In 1950, son Cal was born, and son Jeff followed in 1955. In 1956 the family moved to a house on the beach in Hermosa Beach, Calif. Liz was active in local and statewide politics, helping to manage several political campaigns. Urged by several local business owners to assist them with their advertising, in 1965 Liz founded the Elizabeth Stevens Agency, ultimately employing a staff of three and building her active public relations, marketing and advertising accounts to more than 50, including South Bay Hospital and the South Bay Unified High School District. As a sideline, Liz wrote and submitted features and stories to magazines and newspapers. Her work was published in publications as diverse as Trailer Life magazine and The Los Angeles Times View section. In 1976 she closed her agency and joined the staff of South Bay Hospital as Director of Public Relations. In 1981 she accepted the position of Director of Public Relations at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital, which she held until 1983 when budget cuts forced the closure of her department. In 1985 Liz relocated to the family's vacation cabin in Big Bear City, converting it to her full-time residence. Within only a matter of weeks she had introduced herself to Bob Wood, then the owner and publisher of "The Grizzly," and provided samples of her writing. She was immediately engaged as a freelance reporter for the newspaper, for which she worked until resigning in 2001. During her tenure with The Grizzly, many editions contained a dozen or more of her stories, from coverage of public meetings to hard news, features, and her regular first-person columns "Mountain Mama" and recipes she shared in "Mountain Mama's Kitchen." Almost immediately upon leaving The Grizzly, Liz was engaged as the Big Bear Lake correspondent for the San Bernardino Sun newspaper, and as Senior Reporter for Big Bear's online newspaper, bigbearnews.com. She continued writing for both entities until her illness no longer allowed her to work at her computer. In addition to writing, Liz loved cooking, photography and travel. But most of all, she loved her three sons. Her affection was returned by each of them, who visited her frequently. Liz is survived by her sons Greg, Cal and Jeff and three grandchildren, the son and daughters of middle son Cal. She will be especially missed by daughter-in-law Nancy Nylen Stevens, Cal's wife, "adopted son" David Talamantes, dear Big Bear friends Marge McDonald, Pat Miller and neighbor Jack Wands, all of whom were of great support during her extended illness. Friends and loved ones wishing to express a gesture of remembrance of Liz are welcome to send flowers to her memorial service, or make a donation to the Friends of the Moonridge Zoo (FOMZ), attn: Liz Stevens Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 130666, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315.