On March 5, 1926; William and Nellie (Windmayer) Stevens welcomed their first son, Clarence Benjamin to the family farm northeast of Centerville, South Dakota. He joined one sister, Eva. Times were hard with no electricity or running water. Clarence was baptized and confirmed in Scandia Lutheran Church in Centerville. Clarence attended rural school through 7th grade. He especially enjoyed helping with the farming. He was drafted in the US Army on July 2, 1945. He was in Ft. Hood, Texas until going to Germany on January 19, 1946. He returned to the United States on Dec 9, 1946 and he received an honorable discharge on January 14, 1947. Clarence was a 50 plus year member of the American Legion. After his military service, Clarence returned to working on the family farm. He met the love of his life at a dance in Canton, South Dakota and on March 10, 1952 he married Margaret VerWey Hall, his wife of 63 years. On June 2, 1952 Clarence proudly adopted Margaret's daughter, Sharyl Hall. They moved to Bigelow, Minnesota to work on a tenant farm for a short time before returning to the Centerville - Beresford area to operate their own farm. On January 28, 1953, they proudly welcomed their only son, Roger. On July 31, 1956 they proudly welcomed twin daughters Jayne and Janyce. Clarence ran the township road grader for many years. Clarence and Margaret resided on the same farm for 58 years. They moved into the Bethesda Inn on August 18, 2012. On August 22, 2013 Clarence moved into the nursing home after severely breaking a hip. He passed away May 27, 2015 at Bethesda Nursing Home in Beresford. Clarence is survived by his wife Margaret; daughter Sharyl Ochsner, Beresford; son Roger (Ruth) of Centerville; Jayne (Steve) Ratzlaff of Hemingford, NE; Janyce (Gary) Johnson of Canton. Seven grandchildren; Jeff (Julie) Hult, Huron, SD; Bryan (JoAnne) Stevens, Canton, SD; Brenda (Jason) Jensen; Beresford, SD; Ben (Corie) Ratzlaff and Justin (Melody)Ratzlaff all of Fort Collins, CO; Sarah (Kristopher) Shrewsberry, Brookings, SD; Laura (Edwin) Frerichs of Alcester, SD. Twelve great-grandchildren: Kayla and Leah Jensen; Taylor and Regan Stevens; Shawn, Jocelyn, Lily, Ethan, Jayda, and Alice Ratzlaff, Theo and Bella Frerichs. He also survived by his brother Arnold (Carolyn) Stevens, sister Alice Richards (special friend Gary Reimers), sister-in-law Delores Stevens and numerous nieces, nephews and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Sister Eva Shafer, brothers Ervin and Ernie, grandson Joshua Ratzlaff, and son-in-law Dennis Ochsner. Funeral services will be held 10:00 AM, Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at Brooklyn Evangelical Free Church, rural Beresford, with burial at Riverview Cemetery, Centerville. Visitation will be Monday from 6PM to 8PM with a prayer service at 7PM at Wass Funeral Home in Beresford.