The soul of a life-saving Ottawa organization died Thursday.

William "Bill" Stevens died at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria. He would have been 74 Saturday. Stevens helped form Ottawa River Rescue in 1957, one of a handful of such squads that continue to exist in Illinois. At the time of his death, Stevens, an avid outdoorsman, was the squad's river captain.

"All you've got to do is have strong guts," Stevens told The Times in 2007 when asked what it takes to be a river rescue volunteer. "You need a strong mind and understand what death is."

The Ottawa native was apparently a symbol of guts and strength to others on the squad.

"A lot of guys looked up to him," said 23-year squad veteran Ray Sibert Sr., who is squad president. "Everything I know about river rescue, I learned from Bill and Stan Albin. If there's one thing I learned from Bill, it was to listen to the older guys. The guys who have been through everything on the river. He's a guy who is going to be very much missed."

In 1995, Albin-Stevens Drive in Ottawa was named after the two founders. Of the 60 charter members of the squad in 1957, only Albin and Stevens were still active after the early 1980s. Albin died Feb. 3 at age 86. Many of the early members were World War II and Korean Conflict veterans who instilled a military-style discipline in the squad.

"There were so many times families would be standing on the bank and one of their children would be in the river," Stevens told The Times in 1995, describing the motivation to form the group. "A bunch of us got together and decided we should get a rescue squad going."

Ottawa Fire Chief Jim Duback often worked with Stevens.

"I knew Bill all my life. We went way back. He and Stan Albin were the old guard. The squad has a long history of being one of the best in the state. I chalk a lot of that up to Bill and the other founders. Bill's heart and soul were always with the squad."

Duback, who has been with the fire department a quarter of a century, noted Stevens' enthusiasm for the squad was recently on display when Stevens spoke of his plans to further sharpen the squad.

Despite the people rescued, many more times Stevens and his men's efforts came after it was too late to save life — when the job turned dark.

One such grueling operation took place over four days in June 2008 after a Chicago girl drowned in the Illinois River near Starved Rock State Park. As he stood by the river bank overseeing that search, Stevens explained to The Times what drove him and his men to take time from their day jobs and other commitments.

"We're doing it for the family, so they can have their child back and have a grave for her."