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R

ussell, known as Russ, was born in Cape Town, South Africa, March 3, 1932. He was an engineer, a sailor, a father of four. A gregarious man, Russ was, in the words of Pastor Anne Sims, “notorious in the best small town way.”

He passed away February 23, 2026. He was 93 years old.

Russ Stevenson.

Russ fell in love with sailing while away at boarding school in his teens.

According to his son-in-in-law Clif Lewis, Russ was part of a crew that won the 1957 Lipton Challenge Cup in South Africa.

Sailing became such an integral part of his life that prior to asking his then-girlfriend Yvonne to marry him, he first asked if she “would be prepared to go sailing around the world at some time,” said his daughter Peta.

Russ and wife Yvonne, with their beloved dog Myloo at the 2013 Pet Parade.

After Yvonne affirmed her desire to sail the world, then Russ asked her to marry him.

“They were such a team,” said Peta, “they got along very well, and sailed very well together.”

Yvonne and Russ had four children: Cheryl, Grant, Peta and Vaughan. All born in South Africa.

In Michigan, Russ and Yvonne with SV Inkwazi.

Russ was mechanically gifted and found work early on as an equipment engineer in the South African mines. Eventually, he was hired by a company called Morbark, specializing in large equipment for forestry and tree services industries. Russ moved his family to Michigan in 1980-81 to work for them in the forestry service.

At that time, his eldest children had graduated high school, but his youngest – Peta and Vaughan – stayed to finish their year of school, eventually following their father to the United States.

A picture from the familyh photo album: timber selection for Inkwazi.

While still living in Michigan, Russ used his timber contacts to hand pick the trees for a 38 ft boat he wanted to build from scratch. “ He had the factory custom mill the boards, tounge-in-groove, in one inch segments,” Clif said.

The build took nine years. Russ named it Inkwazi, after the name for the African fish eagle.

After Peta finished high school, she eventually moved to Greenville, North Carolina in the late 1990s. Russ and Yvonne followed, landing in Oriental and becoming part of the sailing community.

Clif reported that Russ had sailed the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. He travelled through the Panama Canal and cruised the Caribbean and Galápagos Islands.

Russ walking Myloo in the 2016 Pet Parade.

Russ and Yvonne started their circumnavigation in Oriental.

“He was in his early seventies,” said Clif, “him and mom in a 38 foot boat and sailed 3,000 miles of open blue water to Tahiti.” They tried to sail into Tahiti after dark and ran aground on an unmarked reef.

Yvonne and Russ were rescued by the Tahitian Coast Guard. Inkwazi “pretty much sunk on the reef,” said Clif.

Russ went on to have other boats, but never another like Inkwazi. And he never sailed that far again. When speaking at Yvonne’s funeral in 2017, Clif reported Russ to have said that “his GPS with Inkwazi, now from when he first built it, logged in over 43,000 miles.”

Russ plays Sarie Marais for the Old Theater talent show, 2020.

Russ built up a community of friends in Oriental, not just through sailing, but also through music and The Old Theater.

He become a member of the Ukulele UHOOS, with whom he performed at multiple Ol’ Front Porch Music festivals.

Russ playing his ukulele with the UHOOS at the 2019 Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival.

Both Claudia Bemis, director of the UHOOS, and Toni Leavitt, a long-time friend of Russ’, said he’d became good friends with Frank Murphy, another musician.

Their friendship grew as both their wives were admitted to The Gardens of Pamlico Assisted Living facility with memory issues. Russ and Frank, they said, would drive up and play music for the women several times a week, entertaining them and the other residents.

Russ in the 2015 Radio Play: Vintage Hitchcock

Russ could also be found at The Silos on Open Mic nights, enjoying the music and company. Friends mentioned that Russ was social, enjoyed being wherever people gathered.

Though he didn’t particularly like beer, Russ could still be found at the brewery – sipping a glass of wine instead. Pastor Anne remembered him as a “clever and deep thinker,” she said. “ Growing up in South Africa and then choosing to come here, exposed him to a lot of things that other people don’t necessarily think about. He was a great conversation partner.”

Russ (center) and the UHOOS, 2021.

Russ’ interests led him to take on roles at The Old Theater, sometimes playing the ukulele, sometimes reciting half-memorized and ad-libbed lines, said several friends.

“He just loved to be a part of making people happy,” said Pastor Anne.

A Celebration of Life is being held at The Oriental United Methodist Church Saturday, March 14 at 2p.

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Story by Allison DeWeese. Photos from the TownDock.net archives and family photo albums.

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Posted Friday March 13, 2026 by Allison DeWeese