Jeff Stevens (1958–2021)

Jeff Stevens, 63, of Apison, Tennessee, USA passed away September 26, 2021. Jeff was a long-time member of the IOS (since 1999) and attended several of our Conferences and Oak Open Days.

Jeff graduated with a bachelor’s degree from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in business administration. He was a corporate senior food safety and quality specialist for McKee Foods. From a young age, Jeffrey loved to play piano and was with the gospel group, The Heritage Singers. He had a great love for nature and loved to travel all over the world, especially Brazil, UK, Chile, and many tropical places.

His main horticultural interest was in palms, and he was an instrumental member of the Southeastern Palm Society, where he served as the editor of the magazine Southeastern Palms and two books published by the Society. But oaks were also his passion, in particular Mexican oaks. He gladly shared acorns from oaks in his garden with IOS members at the IOS's Seed Exchanges, in particular the relatively rare Quercus invaginata. He will be sorely missed.

You can read more about Jeff and his contributions to the Southeastern Palm Society on their Facebook page.