The Rt. Rev. William L. Stevens, sixth Bishop of Fond du Lac, died Nov. 4 in Plantation, Fla., following a long illness. He was 65. Bishop Stevens had been in failing health since suffering a stroke early in 1996. He served the Wisconsin diocese from 1980 until his retirement in 1994.

Bishop Stevens was a native of Yuba City, Calif., and a graduate of San Francisco State and the General Theological Seminary. He was ordained deacon in 1956 and priest in 1957. He was curate at St. Luke's Church, San Francisco, 1956-57, and senior curate at St. Saviour's, London, England, 1957-59.

From 1959 to 1961 he was a novice in the Order of the Holy Cross. He became rector of St. Benedict's, Plantation, Fla., in 1961 and remained there until his election to the episcopate.

In the Diocese of Southeast Florida, he was chair of the liturgy commission and a member of the standing committee, including president for a time.

He was a member of the Anglican Society, the Society of Mary, the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, the Episcopal Synod of America, the Living Church Foundation and the Order of St. Luke. He was episcopal visitor to the Order of St. Benedict from 1986 to 1993, and to the Sisters of the Holy Nativity. He was a former member of the board of trustees of Nashotah House, and was chairman of the House of Bishops' Committee on Religious Communities.

A memorial Eucharist will be celebrated Dec. 13 at St. Paul's Cathedral, Fond du Lac.