John S. Stephens

John Stephens was born to the late Tom John and Lula Bailey Stephens on April 30, 1943 in Clinton, Mississippi.  

 John was the 4th of 9 children from this union: Dorothy, Sydney, Marvin, John, Theodosia, Malcolm, Claude, Vivian and Barry.  

John moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the 50’s where he was educated in the Philadelphia School system. 

Upon graduation, John Enlisted in the United States Navy where he served for 4 years.  He was honorably discharged in 1966 and starting his career at Philco. where he met his soon to be wife Dorothy Lewis. 

John and Dorothy exchanged vows on April 19, 1969 and have been married for over 53 years.

From this union John and Dorothy had 2 beautiful children David L. Stephens Sr. and the late Denise L. Stephens.

John’s contagious personality and ability to not just communicate but educate everyone he came into contact with landed him in several social, spiritual, political organizations.  John became a member of Campbell Washington Joppa #37 Lodge, he was raised to a 3rd degree mason and has been in good standing for 47 years. 

John served as a Trustee at Caanan Baptist church for some time where he looked forward to the annual church picnics to see and talk to his longtime friends/members.  John was also a committee person in the 49th district 4th ward where he was instrumental in getting involved to assist that the communities’ needs were addressed. 

John worked at Bell Atlantic (Verizon) for 34 years where he joined, “The Brothers of Bell” and continued to keep in contact with the members after his retirement.   From John’s many encounters with understanding the importance of living life, we are sure that everyone he encountered has heard some of his famous stories about being stationed in Iceland to leaving you with a positive affirmation/quote to live by.  Needless to say, to come in to contact with John is definitely a positive experience due to his love for reading, learning and sharing knowledge.

On Sunday, February 19, 2023, God called John home. He is survived by: his loving and devoted wife, Dorothy Stephens; son, David Stephens (Verona); grandson, David L. Stephens Jr.; two sisters, Mrs. Dorothy W. Millner, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Ms. Theodosia Stevens of Jackson, Mississippi; two brothers, Sidney Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, and Claude A. Stevens (Marguerite) of Jackson, Mississippi.  John also leaves to mourn as well as a host of cousins, nieces, nephews and extended family. 

Submitted With Love,

The Family

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