Former Kennesaw Mayor J.O. Stephenson died Tuesday at age 84.
A native son of Alabama, he spent 18 years in public service between 1978 and 1996, with a decade of that as mayor and eight years as a councilman.
He oversaw the building of city hall and the police department, both of which now sit on J.O. Stephenson Avenue in downtown Kennesaw.
When you spend that much time on a dais, you get asked your opinion. And when it came to the Second Amendment, Stephenson wasn't shy.
"He was a strong proponent of the 1982 Gun Law that supported our second amendment rights," read his obituary.
The law in part reads: "Every head of household residing in the city limits is required to maintain a firearm, together with ammunition."
The law drew support and ire and the eyes of the world to the town of then a few thousand residents.
Shortly after the ordinance was approved, then-councilman Stephenson said three landowners approached the city to make sure their project was annexed into the city.
That was Legacy Park, an 880-acre project where housing prices range as high as $500,000. It changed Kennesaw.
But civil service isn't all massive real estate deals: The city's first traffic light was installed during Stephenson's time in office.
Outside the office, he joined First Baptist Church of Kennesaw in 1956 and went on to become a deacon and Sunday School teacher.
Stephenson's funeral will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at his church. Perry Fowler and Rev. Tommy Stephenson will officiate. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the church's building fund.
About the Author
