Long-serving Rotarian Harry Stephen remembered in Murray Bridge
Rest in peace: Harry Stephen will be remembered for his long service to the Murray Bridge community through the Rotary Club of Mobilong. Photo: Supplied.
The family and friends of the late Harry Stephen gathered recently at the Minge Chapel to celebrate a long and productive life.
Active until the last couple of months, Harry died shortly after his 90th birthday.
His funeral commenced with a guard of honour provided by current and former members of the Mobilong Rotary Club.
As charter president of Mobilong Rotary, Harry, for nearly 40 years, provided nurturing support to club leaders and actively contributed to club programs.
With his late wife Fay, the Stephens were a team in their service to the community.
They were active in the many facets of Rotary, including community service; youth programs, including the very active youth exchanges; and in the wider circles of Rotary through conferences and district committees.
In fact, their son Matthew was a Rotary exchange student to Argentina.
The Stephen family came to Murray Bridge in 1966 as the chicken industry was developing, with Harry the poultry adviser in the Department of Agriculture.
Harry’s forthright authoritative input was a feature of the embryonic industry across much of South Australia.
His academic background was through the Roseworthy Agricultural College, first as a student, graduating in 1948, then on the staff.
His link with the college extended over 70 years, most recently through the alumni.
Harry was essentially a country boy, having grown up in the Mid North.
This may have been a reason for a move to a home built at the end of Mitchell Avenue, with few neighbours at the time.
An early feature of this home was a limestone rock wall boundary believed to have been built by Fay.
The Stephen family was very active in the community.
Fay was regularly on the golf course and Harry played tennis into his 80s.
Although well out of the established city, it was not unusual for Harry to walk five kilometres into his meetings.
Development of young people gave Harry great pleasure.
For a period he was chair of the Murray Bridge High School council.
Long after relinquishing this role, Harry and Fay provided the school with an achievement prize for the annual presentation awards.