James Stephens

James Stephens, 73, formerly of Bloomington passed away October 13, 2021. He was born on August 12, 1948 to Charles and Maxine (King) Stephens and married his sweetheart, Judith “Judy” Cato on May 29, 1968 in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She precedes him in passing.

James began his service for our country right out of high school graduation in 1966. He served in the Army as a Medical Corpsman and a Practical Nurse and received several medals. Among those were the National Defense Service Medal, Parachute badge, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Bronze Star medals, and Combat Medical Badge. He was 101st airborne in the army and he later collected several Vietnam hats. At heart, James was a family man and made sure to always take care of his loved ones. He enjoyed gardening, fishing, spending time with his family, and going with Judith to Telogia, Florida to visit relatives as well as travel to Las Vegas. James was compassionate about dogs in shelters and donated to the Humane Society. He leaves behind his 4 legged furry baby, Mattie who misses him every day.

Surviving are his: children: Dawn Stephens of Cairo, GA; Jeffery Stephens of Cairo, GA; three grandchildren: Courtney Thornton of Cairo, GA; Arianna Stephens of Normal; and James Stephens of Indiana; 7 great-grandchildren; brother: Charles (Lynn) Stephens of Hudson, IL; brothers-in-law: David Jones, Butch Cato; and several nieces and nephews. He is also preceded in death by his parents; granddaughter: Monique Pleasant; siblings: Patricia (Lynn) Westerfield, and Ronnie Stephens; and sister-in-law: Evelyn Jones.

A brief visitation will be held on November 8th 2021 at 9:30 a.m. at East Lawn Funeral Home, with a funeral service to follow at 10:00 a.m. Inurnment will take place at East Lawn Memorial Gardens.

Memorial contributions may be made to: the Humane Society.

Condolences and memories may be left with the family at eastlawnmemorial.com