Lincoln's Mechanical and Body Shop

Dick began working at a Conoco gas station at the age of 14 and continued through high school. Before he was able to drive, he rode his go-cart to work. Upon high school graduation, he worked briefly for an automotive oil company. He then joined the Nebraska National Guard and was trained on mechanics of trucks and tanks in Aberdeen, MD. He eventually ended up working for the Nebraska National Guard as helicopter mechanic. 

In 1966 Dick married Vicki (Wall) Stephenson. They had the opportunity to purchase a CONOCO service station in Lincoln, NE (Dick’s Conoco at 9th & R Street). The station had an automobile repair shop, but within a couple of years they diversified to also repair beverage delivery trucks. The truck business was steady and in 1980, they leased a building in Lincoln at 29th & Cornhusker to establish a stand-alone truck repair facility and Stephenson Truck Repair was “official”. 

At that time, they also added a truck body shop to the mix, so they were able to do both mechanical and body repairs. 

They continued with the station and the truck repair facility for about three years and then in 1983, stepped away from the Conoco station to focus on truck repairs. In 1984 they leased, and eventually bought a building at 2930 Superior Street in Lincoln. 

They incorporated in 1987. They soon outgrew their building and leased an adjacent building on Superior Street. 

In 1992, Walmart came to Lincoln. Walmart built their first store on the site that Stephenson Truck Repair, Inc. had occupied. 

The Stephenson’s purchased a building a couple of blocks away at 4201 Industrial Avenue in Lincoln. There wasn’t enough room for both the mechanical and body shops, so they built an additional building on the property to house the body shop. 

Dick and Vicki continue to work at Stephenson Truck Repair, Inc. Their two grown sons are also very actively involved in the business. Joel oversees the mechanical shop, as foreman and Adam manages the body shop, as foreman.