Alfred (Al) Bartholomew Stedman

1936-2021

Alfred Stedman passed away January 19, 2021 in his home in Valencia. He was born on January 23, 1936 in Minneapolis, MN to Katheryne Anne Fitzpatrick and Hubert Quintin Stedman. Al was their third child, welcomed by Hubert Quintin, Jr., age 3, and Helen Anne, age 2. His family was joined for a few years by his aunt Helen Page and his cousin Bill, a toddler. Al’s mother and aunt were his “two mothers” for a few years, and he always thought of Bill as a brother.

Al’s formative years were spent in Brainerd, MN, where they lived until 1952. The family members all eventually moved out to California, including Al, who had heard about its sunny days, pretty girls, and free community college. Al’s most memorable days as a teen were his two summers working at Yellowstone Park. After the second summer he drove to Southern California and made it his home, too.

Al found a job as a machinist, first at Bendix, then Rocketdyne, working full-time while studying full-time at a community college. Al’s job and education were soon interrupted by the draft. The US Army trained Al as a tank mechanic, but — as Al would say — discovering he could spell, they installed him as company clerk during his two years of military service in Munich. Al fell in love with a German girl, Barbara Schaubeck, during his stay, and they married in 1960. When discharged, Al brought his wife to the U.S., and, except for inactive reserves in Barstow, they settled in Southern California.

When Al returned from Germany in 1960, he went back to work at Rocketdyne as a machinist, later joining the company’s numerical control department, which worked on aerospace projects, including work on the space shuttle.

Al began attending night law classes at San Fernando Valley School of Law and graduated with a J.D. He passed the California Bar in 1973, resigned as department head at Rocketdyne, and worked briefly at Menasco to help them with their programming department before starting his law practice.

It was in the Rocketdyne numerical control department where Al had met his friend Preston Petty, a motorcyclist extraordinaire, who left Rocketdyne to found Preston Petty Products. When Preston’s company was in the process of taking back the production and sales of his motorcycle products — from a company which had filed bankruptcy — Preston hired Al to run the company for a year while he got his company in order.

Al soon was practicing law as a civil litigator near the Van Nuys Courthouse. He additionally taught constitutional law at a private law school in Antelope Valley in 197677. Al hired a young law student, Frank A. Koroshec, Jr., as his law clerk; Frank and Al would work together as partners — colleagues and friends — until Al retired in 2015.

Al and Barbara divorced after thirty years. In 1990 Al met Marie (Flatgaard) de Veritch in Valencia. Marie remembers their early dates, with Al singing and playing his guitar, reciting poetry from memory from The Rubiyat and “The Cremation of Sam McGee” and perfecting his culinary skills. On April 22, 1995 Al and Marie married and settled down in Valencia. Al passed away in their home four days before his 85th birthday.

Al and Barbara raised two daughters, Leslie Terrell (Mike) and Annette Riese (Frank). Leslie’s children are Natalie Albert (Patrick), with daughters Madison, Sophia and Amélie Albert; Aimee Hester (Joshua), with sons Jayden Elstad and Ashton Hester; and Daniel Mastrolonardo (Halley), with children Joseph and Hannah Mastrolonardo. Annette’s children are Jessica Phillips (Patrick), with daughter Jacey Phillips; Jaimee Brooks (Sean, Sr.), with son Sean Early, Jr.; and Jillian Brooks.

Al’s family also includes Marie’s three children, Manon de Veritch, with sons Keir and Tristan Buettner; Sean de Veritch, with stepson Jared Maddox; and Vanessa de Veritch Woodside (Matt), with sons James and Jonah Woodside.

Everyone in the family has heard Grandpa Al’s stories and jokes. He loved humor, fishing, golf, reading — mystery, history and poetry — crossword puzzles, computer solitaire and bridge, singing and playing his Goya guitar. Lately he continued his love for music and choir, singing bass in the Santa Clarita Encore Chorale.

Al is survived by his wife, Marie, his sister, Helen Anne Christensen, cousin William (Bill) Page and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his brother, Hubert Q. Stedman, Jr., who passed away in 2016.

No services are planned for the immediate future.