After a long and painful illness Father Hubert died on 13th March at the age of 60. He had served the local parish at Ampleforth faithfully for 20 years, longer than any previous pastor. The pattern of his life was that of many another Amplefordian who chose to become a monk: he was clothed in the religious habit at the age of 18; he spent three years at Saint Benet's Hall, Oxford, taking a degree in chemistry. Ordained priest in 1938, he devoted himself to teaching in the School. His career as parish priest extended from 1949 to 1969.
'His was not an easy temperament,' said Father Abbot at his funeral. And yet those who occasionally clashed with him could not fail, if they were wise, to learn something true and useful about themselves. They would notice, too, in Father Hubert, as the years went by, a developing gentleness, a deepening compassion, a concern to enter into the interests of others. 'Those twenty years of pastoral work in our village,' Father Abbot pointed out in his panegyric, 'of devoted service, of consideration and compassion - especially for the sick and the dying - that meticulous care for the house of God, that provision of a first rate school for the children of the village, those are only some of the more obvious benefits of his twenty years' ministry.' Justly the Abbot concluded: 'There was a toughness about him right to the end, but a toughness which failed to hide from those who knew him, who were close to him at the end, a genuine and sincere attachment to the Lord he had sought. We esteemed him more than he esteemed himself; we valued him more than he knew.'
DOM ERIC HUBERT STEPHENSON 13 March 1971 1911 3 Jan Born Milltown Dublin Educ Ampleforth 1929 25 Sep Habit 1930 26 Sep Temporary Vows 1933 Renewed for a year 1934 23 Sep Solemn Vows 1936 27 Apr Tonsure 30 Apr Minor Orders 19 Jul Subdeacon 1937 18 Jul Deacon 1938 17 Jul Priest 1932 Oct to Jun 1935 Studied degree in Chemistry at Oxford 1949 Apr Parish Priest at Ampleforth 1969 Sep Retired from the village 1971 13 Mar Died in the Purey Cust Nursing Home York Buried in the Hill Cemetery