Sue McPherson

Della Sue Stevenson was born April 24, 1922 in New Albany, MS. She grew up in Gulfport, MS and graduated from Gulfport High School. After graduation she moved to Hattiesburg, MS to work at Camp Shelby. There she met and married William Franklin McPherson. They had a daughter, Blayne. After living in Medina, Ohio for 8 years they returned to the Gulf Coast and settled in Long Beach.
She retired from the Navy Seabee Base in 1982 after twenty-four years of civil service. After retiring she graduated with highest honors from Gulf Coast Community College.
She enjoyed traveling and made more than twenty trips to Mexico, Central America, Jamaica and the Bahamas.
She loved Mardi Gras and Christmas, her nieces and nephews and their children and her puppy dogs.
She was a talented painter, an avid reader and she knitted beautiful afghans and sweaters for her family members, especially the children.
She was an active member of the Long Beach Historical Society, Long Beach Friends of the Library, Gulfport Friends of the Library, and a volunteer for the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society. In 2010 she received an award for more than 1000 hours of service to that organization. Over the years she campaigned for several political candidates. She was a member of the Long Beach Presbyterian Church. She also helped start a group that meets once a week to study the Spanish language.
She will be remembered with love for her sparkling blue eyes, her beautiful smile and her kind heart.
She was preceded in death by her parents, William Earl Stevenson and Marian Woodson Stevenson; sisters, Miriam Lishen and Edie Mandal; brother, Allen Stevenson; and husband, William Franklin McPherson.
Survivors include her brothers, Leroy Phillip Stevenson of Plantation, Fl and William Malcolm Stevenson of New Orleans, LA; her daughter Blayne Suzanne McPherson of Long Beach, MS; and many beloved nieces, nephews, grandnieces and nephews and great grand nieces and nephews.
A Memorial Service will be held the evening of Tuesday, April 8, at 6:00 p.m. at the Long Beach Presbyterian Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Long Beach Presbyterian Church, 125 East 2nd Street, Long Beach, MS 39560 or the the Humane Society of South Mississippi, 2615 25th Ave, Gulfport, MS 39501.