The reliability and quality communities lost a dear friend on June 17th. Alfred Stevens passed away while on travel doing one of the things that was his passion – supporting a conference.

Alfred never “retired”. Instead, he worked diligently in whatever role would benefit the professional societies and activities that he supported. Alfred loved the IEEE RS, ASQ RRD, SRE, and RAMS and gave much of his life and talent serving in various leadership roles in each of these organizations. At the time of his passing, Alfred was attending the IEEE PHM Conference in San Francisco, which he helped organize. He supported each of the organizations in at least one leadership position and in some cases, more than one, including his current roles of SRE Treasurer, IEEE RS Treasurer, and several key positions on the RAMS BoD. In addition, he was the local Chapter Chair for two other organizations.

One of the things Alfred enjoyed most was conferences. Many of us found great joy working with Alfred organizing these events and seeing the passion he put into this work. Everyone knew that a conference was always in good hands whenever Alfred was involved. He had the talent, experience, and drive to ensure that any conference would be successful. Working on conferences and other projects will never be the same without Alfred.

Alfred never said “no” when asked to help. And when he helped, you knew that the product would be superior. Alfred truly embodied the spirit of the quote “If you want something done, ask a busy person”.

Alfred held an MBA and Master of Engineering, EE from the University of South Carolina, and BS in Electrical Engineering from Clemson University. He was a huge Clemson fan, and wherever Alfred was you would be sure to find little Tiger paws nearby. He started his career with Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. on the Trident Submarines in Goose Creek, SC; served as an Officer in the Army Signal Corps and served in Vietnam; and followed Lockheed to the West Coast before spending the final decades of his career at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where he retired as Director, Florida Safety Advocate, United Space Alliance.

He always had an adventurous spirit—from SCUBA diving and windsurfing to dragging his family on weekend outings on logging roads through the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. He and his wife Livy traveled the world together and enjoyed visiting with friends from all over whenever they could. He was a lifelong Episcopalian and spent much of his life serving his church community. He will be remembered as a generous, tireless, and funny husband, father, and friend by family and all who knew him. Livy, his wife; Laurel, his daughter; and Maxwell, his son; are grateful to you, his colleagues, who so enriched Alfred’s life.

A memorial celebrating his life will be held in Cocoa, Florida on Friday, July 12, at 4 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, where he served on the Vestry and as Treasurer and ushered for Sunday services. As a Vietnam veteran, he will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery later this year.

The most enduring gift that could be made in Alfred's name would be a donation to either St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, the American Heart Association or the Red Cross, in lieu of flowers.

Alfred was a wonderful volunteer and a dear friend to those of us who were fortunate enough to know him. He will be sorely missed.