Marian Matthews Stephenson

Marian was born December 29, 1938 in Oklahoma City to Dr. N. Sanford Matthews and Muriel (Thomas) Matthews. She grew up in what is now the Plaza District of OKC and graduated from NW Classen High School in 1957. Marian received her BA in elementary education in 1961 from the University of Oklahoma where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi, and set off to teach, discovering that the job was an effective means to see more of the world. Marian spent three years teaching in the freshly-developed city of Las Vegas before moving to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 1964 to work at its school. There she met Lt. Colonel Charles R. Stephenson, USMC, the Executive Officer of the military base and it’s “Most Eligible Bachelor”. Upon discovering that Marian might be sent to teach at a base in Germany, Charles put a ring on her finger to keep her on the island. They married on December 18, 1965, and then shipped off to Tokyo, Japan. While there, Marian gave birth to twins, David & Susan, and a son, Rick.

The family relocated to OKC when Charles was sent to the war in Vietnam. Upon his return, the family was stationed in Newport, RI and Quantico, VA, eventually settling in OKC in 1974. After her kids became old enough to look out for themselves, Marian returned to school, earning her Master’s in Social Work from OU in 1987. While working as a psychotherapist, she continued her studies and, in 1997, became a psychoanalyst. Her psychoanalytic practice became Marian’s passion and life’s work. She served as President of the Oklahoma Society for Psychoanalytic Studies and continued to see a full schedule of clients up until her cancer diagnosis in January.

Although busy with her career, Marian loved to socialize and stay active. Highlights include attending the Lyric Theater, numerous events at Heritage Hall School, visiting her son who lives overseas, and taking her grandkids to NYC for their 14th birthdays. Family celebrations took place at her home, where Marian took charge of the cooking. When her kids left the nest, Marian opened her home to exchange students from Europe and Asia, and cultivated friendships with OCU graduate students from India. Since 1974 she has been an active member of Chapel HIll United Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir and ran a weekly grief support group for nearly 30 years. It was at Chapel Hill that Marian met David Hunt who, like her, had lost his spouse to cancer. Their friendship developed and they married on July 11, 2014.

Marian is preceded in death by her first husband, Col. Charles R. Stephenson III; daughter Susan Stephenson; Brother Sandy Matthews of Enid and Sister Elaine Matthews. She is survived by her husband, David Hunt; Sister Martha Daudet of Phoenix, AZ; son Rick Stephenson & his fiance, Lorena Galindo, of OKC; son David Stephenson & his wife, Vanya, of Sofia, Bulgaria; and grandkids Elise, Emory & Ford Stephenson of OKC, and Boyan Stephenson & Mia Papazova of Sofia, Bulgaria.

For decades Marian fetched The Daily Oklahoman from her driveway and opened it straight to the obituaries, which she read while having breakfast. She was keenly interested in other people and enjoyed reading about their lives, celebrating their accomplishments and empathizing with their struggles. While she surely would rather read an obit than be the subject of one, she would get a kick knowing there are kindred spirits reading about her own life. And we as a family are happy to say that it was a life very well lived. A celebration of Marian’s life will take place at Chapel Hill United Methodist Church in OKC on Friday, March 18 at 10:00 a.m. Arrangements are under the direction of Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper Funeral Directors.