Stephen Rupert Botten, 76, of Mars Hill, passed away on December 31, 2024. He was born in England on May 6, 1948, to the late Roy and Sylvia Payne Botten.

Stephen was preceded in death by a brother, and his daughter, JoAnna Botten.

He is survived by his wife, Beverly Botten; children, Heidi Botten and Ben Bagg; nine grandchildren; and sister, Tonie Pearcy.

With Stephen's passing my heart's broken - Beverly Botten

As a Dad, Steve was a real character he had a great sense of humor and could be very funny. He enthralled his kids with magic tricks when they were young and when older, sometimes recounted tails of his misspent youth. In contrast he also had a serious side and could be quite the disciplinarian. Sometimes for a just cause but also sometimes when on a mission to get stuff done.

He cared about his kids a lot and they benefited from many great holidays, traveling to multiple different countries, eating in many lovely restaurants, attending good schools and generally enjoying some great life experiences.

He was clever, having obtained a degree in engineering as a young man from Brunel University and spending time in France to learn the language. He had a photographic memory for routes which gave him the uncanny skill of always remembering the way back even if he'd only been there once before, it was years ago and in a foreign country.

He could be quite opinionated, watched news and documentaries avidly and generally enjoyed learning new things or keeping up with current affairs. He had a real skill for arguing the point around little known facts and friends and family would struggle to dispute him as he invariably knew more than them, even if it was just a little bit more. He could equally argue till the cows came home about something he may not actually have been right about. What he really enjoyed though was engaging in the debate.

He will be sorely missed by his children but the memories they have of all the great times they had will be cherished forever and shared with their children so they can live on.

Please, no flowers sent, at the request of the family

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blueridgefuneralservice.org.