I will start at the beginning. For those that don’t know me, I am Ryan T. Stevens a first generation funeral director. My parents are Dennis and Cheri Stevens and my grandparents are Paul and Greta Stevens who still live in Fillmore.  I was raised in Fillmore until I was 11, then my father, who was in the National Guard, got transferred to Spanish Fork.  I graduated from Spanish Fork High School in 2001. I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in the Indianapolis, Indiana Mission. That is where I had my first exposure to the funeral industry.

 I was serving in the small town of Rochester, Indiana when a member of the church passed away. I was invited to help dress the man who passed and also speak at his funeral.  During the dressing, I just remember thinking how it didn’t bother me at all being around this dead person, all while my companion was curled up in a ball in the corner of the room. I really enjoyed that experience. The next day I got to speak at his funeral. After I spoke, the daughter of the deceased got up to speak; she smiled and testified that what I said is true. I know I had help from above, but that feeling of truly helping someone through one of the most difficult times in their life stuck with me. 

When I got home I knew I wanted a job where I could really help people. So, I thought doctors get to help people. I took pre-med classes from UVU. After one semester I knew I needed to figure something else out. I wasn’t getting into medical school with my grades and I did not like school enough to keep going for 8 more years. At the time I was working for the Department of Workforce services. I had a lot of career information at my fingertips, as that was what I was helping others do; find jobs or careers.  I read an article about a funeral director and what he enjoyed about his job. After reading that I knew that is what I wanted to do. 

I tried for many months to get a job at a funeral home. It didn’t work out, so I just jumped in with two feet and went to mortuary science school in Cypress, California. While I was there I met my beautiful wife Michelle. We got married in August of 2006. I graduated with my Associates of Mortuary Science in December 2006. We moved to Mesquite, Nevada to work at Virgin Valley Mortuary in January 2007. 

Some of the great things to come out of that move was that I got to work with some really good funeral directors; Brian Rebman and Tyson Smith. They both taught me almost everything it takes to take care of the deceased and to run a mortuary. We also had our two oldest children there, Emily and Kyle. 

After two and half years I was looking for a change.  About that time I met Jim Graff. He was one of the owners of Southern Utah Mortuary. As we talked, he found out I was from Fillmore and told me that their Fillmore mortuary was for sale. 

In January of 2010 I was able to purchase the Olpin Funeral Home and renamed it Olpin Stevens Funeral Home. In 2012 we opened a new location in Delta to better serve the community there.  In 2019 we purchased and remodeled a new location in Delta. Two years ago, in 2020, we bought a 1939 Packard Hearse to restore to use as our main hearse. We had five more girls since moving to Fillmore: Katie, Gracie, Haisley, Holland, and Tinsley. We have loved serving the families in the Delta and Fillmore communities and we hope to continue to do so for many years to come.

Please leave a comment or ask questions if you have them. I would like to make this a good and fun experience for all. I hope to do this every month so feedback would be much appreciated.