Ethel "Lou" Stephens

Ethel "Lou" Ballew Stephens, was born in Memphis,Texas on October 21, 1912, abandoned by her parents (Raymond Ballew and Ethel Dodson) and raised by her grandparents a strict disciplinarian Dr. J.M. Ballow (medical doctor) and a loving Rev. B.W. Dodson (Methodist minister). In her late teens she left home for San Antonio where her first job was a hat check girl at the St. Anthony's Hotel. She was fiercely independent, never asking anyone for a favor and always generous to a fault with others.

Falling in love with a handsome guy by the name of Date "Steve" Stephens, they married on May 18, 1935, at Travis Park Methodist Church in the depths of the Great Depression. Struggling to make it from day to day, in 1938-39 they moved to Rochester, New York where Steve secured a job in the Eastman Kodak paper mill, where her brother worked in the Personnel Department. When WWII cam she worked as a machinist, making small parts for aircraft bombers.

They had one child, Jerry Dale Stephens, born on April 22, 1936, who contracted rheumatic fever at age 11. Mrs. Stephens nursed her son for three months, not allowing him to get out of bed according to doctor’s orders for fear of lasting heart damage. Thanks to his mother’s loving care and attention, he suffered no heart problems. However, the doctor recommended they move to a warmer climate for their son’s health.

Returning to San Antonio in 1947, was a challenging move for the entire family – Lou because she lost all her treasured household furnishings due to negligence of the moving company, for Steve who encountered difficulty in finding a job, and for Jerry who was ridiculed because of his Yankee accent. Initially Steve sold match book cover advertising, vacancy signs for small motels and photo finishing at Fox Photo. Around 1949-50, he founded his own company selling and installing inter-office communication, public address and telephone systems, for organizations large and small including USAA Insurance and Lackland AFB Hospital. Lou worked as his partner, scrimping and saving every dollar, wisely investing in commercial rental buildings, an apartment house and AAA bonds.

Steve died on January 19, 1993, of heart, cancer and multiple complications. He was laid to rest at Sunset Memorial Park on Austin Highway on the 23rd of January. Lou lived on for another 22 years, managing her investments frugally and effectively through ups and downs of the market. On her 100th birthday preparing for a party with friends, she slipped and fell in the bath room suffering some debilitating effects, moving to nursing homes in San Antonio and later to Georgetown where Jerry and his wife Alice are living.

Alice, the ultimate care giver, looked after Lou, visiting the nursing home 3-4 times each week and preparing special meals for her when she was able to come to their home. The last six months of Lou’s life were filled with trauma and pain, constantly falling out of bed and her wheel chair, with bruises from head to toe. Her eating and drinking diminished to the point she was literally skin and bones. She died in her sleep on the morning of January 17, 2015 at the age of 102, with graveside services next to her husband on exactly same day as his interment (January 23rd).