GARRISON – The North Dakota Community Foundation (NDCF) has announced the establishment of the James R. Stephens & Sylvia J. Stephens Foundation to benefit organizations and projects in Garrison.

The creation of the foundation was included in the James R. Stephens Revocable Trust and will provide financial aid for special projects of St. Paul Lutheran Church of Garrison or its successor and other qualified organizations or projects in the Garrison area.

A special committee will review proposed projects and recommend grant awards. There will be three members on the foundation’s committee, including a representative of Garrison State Bank and Trust or its successor (now TruCommunity Bank), an elected member of the Garrison City Council and the president of the board of directors of St. Paul Lutheran Church or its successor. The current members of the committee are Sundi Lagge, Keith Thelen and Shannon Jeffers.

The foundation will award approximately $20,000 in grants every year.

James Stephens was born in Garrison in 1924 and lived his entire life there, except for his years attending the University of North Dakota and serving in the Army Air Force during World War II. He met Sylvia Grina while in Grand Forks. They were married and moved to Garrison in 1950, with Sylvia’s daughter, Diane.

Stephens helped run and eventually took over his father’s retail lumber business in Garrison and they also started another lumber company in New Town. Stephens had several other business ventures and was a partner in Jacks Monument Company in Minot, Quinco Apartments, the Garrison Nursing Home and the Garrison Motel. He retired in 1979.

Stephens was on the City Council, was Boss of the Year in 1971 and was also a member of the American Legion, Masonic Lodge, the National Guard and St. Paul Lutheran Church. He was an avid fisherman, hunter, golfer and all-around outdoorsman. He died in January of 2013 at age 89.

Sylvia Stephens did hairstyling out of her home for many years in Garrison and then sold her equipment to McLean Manor and continued to do beauty work at the Manor and Nursing Home. She was a life-long member of the American Legion Auxiliary and St. Paul Lutheran Church. She loved music, yardwork, her flowers, reading and coffee with friends. She died in September of 2022.

Organizations interested in applying for a grant from the James R. Stephens and Sylvia J. Stephens Foundation can find more information and the online application form at www.NDCF.net/Stephens.