Lillian (1902-1968) and William (1898-1954) Stevens were born in Cat Island, Bahamas. They came to West Palm Beach by 1921, when the first of their 12 children was born; they sent them all through college.
Sons Eugene and Roderick learned about the funeral business in the early 1950s at Coleman Funeral Home, one of two black funeral homes in the area at the time. William Stevens gave his sons land and helped them build the Stevens Brothers Funeral Home on Tamarind Avenue; he died weeks before it opened in 1954.
Stevens Brothers became one of the most successful family businesses in the county, with the help of most of the family. Howard became an especially talented embalmer. Arnold ran the flower shop. The wives and sisters greeted and comforted mourners. John was treasurer. Roderick managed the original home and chapels in Riviera Beach and Gifford, Florida. Eugene opened E. A. Stevens Funeral Home in Hallandale.
Their mother, Lillian, was an evangelist and minister at the Church of God on Fifth Street, West Palm Beach. The family viewed their services to the bereaved as a ministry to the community and was known for assisting people in need with discounts or installment plans.
Leonard was a licensed funeral director but became a Palm Beach County deputy sheriff. Outside the business, Robert was a preacher like his mother. John marched with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and founded West Palm Beach’s first black golf club. Howard, the last of the second-generation owners, sold Stevens Brothers Funeral Home before he died in 2000, but Darryl and Roderick (sons of Howard and Roderick respectively) continued as managers.