Obituary of Carol Stephens

Carol (Smith) Stephens was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 1, 1942. Her family moved to Pueblo, Colorado, when she was eight years old. She attended Abilene Christian College from 1960-1964 where she majored in Elementary Education. It was during this time that she met Clint Stephens in the ACC cafeteria. He remembers thinking she was young enough to be in high school; after asking more questions about her, he found out that she was engaged to someone at that time. After she broke off her engagement, Clint asked her on a date and the rest is history.They were married on January 31, 1964, in Abilene, and celebrated their 57th anniversary earlier this year.

In 1964, they moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where Clint did payroll for Kimball Grocery and Carol worked for an oil company, and taught elementary school at Fort WorthChristian. They moved to Denver in 1967, and started attending Bear Valley Church of Christ immediately. Carol served as church secretary for a few years before Lana was born in 1968, then Chad followed in 1970. Clint started his own accounting firm during this time; Carol was a homemaker for many years so she could stay home with Lana and Chad.

Carol truly had a selfless, servant’s heart. She spent countless hours throughout the years teaching Bible class, organizing the teacher’s workroom, leading the elementary Bible class department, hosting ladies at her home for tea, and hosting “Dinners for 8” on Saturday nights. During any given week, she could be found taking a meal to a family in need, sitting with a family while their loved one was in surgery, or visiting the elderly.

She loved bird watching, hiking and camping in the mountains (especially Rocky Mountain National Park and Smoky Mountain National Park), quilting, gardening, genealogy research and searching for seashells on the beach. Carol was preceded in death by her parents, Irl and Grace Smith. She is survived by her husband Clint, and her children: Lana Stewart and husband Landon (Castle Pines, CO), and Chad Stephens and wife Cassaundra Stephens (Argyle, TX). She especially loved spending time with her grandchildren: Christian and Casey Stewart, and Connor, Callee, Cooper, and Cannon Stephens. She is also survived by her sister Anne White (Lakewood, OH), niece Linda White, and nephew Jeff White.

Donations in Carol’s memory can be made to the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver (wetrainpreaccchers.com) or the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org).

If you are purchasing flowers for Carol's Memorial Service, please have them delivered to Bear Valley Church of Christ on Saturday morning, the 19th of June.