Vallie Margaret Elrod Stevens

With profound sorrow and deep love, we share that our beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, Vallie Margaret (Elrod) Stevens, affectionately known as “Mama Vallie” or “MV,” has gone to her eternal home to be with our Lord on January 25th, 2026, 5:45am, from her residence at LifeCare Center of Columbia, Tennessee at the age of 90 years following a lengthy battle with dementia.

She will be dearly missed and forever remembered by her children: Darryl Glen Stevens Sr. (Kristy) and Laura Michelle Taylor Stevens; Grandchildren: Darryl Glen Stevens Jr. (Amanda), Aubrie Anne Taylor Hagewood (Benjamin), Griffin Hugh Taylor, and Phoebe Jane Taylor; and Great-Grandchildren: Bella Hope Stevens and Jedidiah Stevens; as well as numerous relatives and friends.

Vallie Margaret was preceded in death by: her loving husband of 53 years, WWII veteran, Julian S. Stevens Jr.; Parents, Sidney Stanton Elrod and Vola Vinson Elrod; and her three loyal brothers, Vietnam Veteran, Lloyd Freeman Elrod, Vietnam Fallen Soldier, Waymon Clay Elrod, and Cordell C. Elrod.

Vallie Margaret Elrod was born on July 21, 1935 in rural Putnam County, Tennessee (Cookeville), as the only daughter to Sidney Stanton & Vola Vinson Elrod. With three brothers, and losing her father at sixteen years of age, she was the first and only member of the family to earn her Bachelors of Science in Business Education from Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, (Tennessee Tech University) in 1958. Throughout her life and her studies, her unwavering faith was always paramount, as she frequently attended seminary classes and once graduated, even found a career of 30+ years as an editor for the Children’s Sunday School Literature Board for Lifeway Christian Resources. Once graduated from university, in addition to a long and fulfilling career, Vallie found the love of her life, Julian Stevens Jr., and married him in June of 1962; Followed quickly by the births of children Darryl Glen and Laura Michelle Stevens. Vallie was a devoted mother and a lifelong member of the Haywood Hills Baptist Church, where she found time to serve in the Sunday School program and on several church board committees. A creative woman of many skills and avocations, she was known to be found bowling on teams, cross-stitching, sewing, gardening, going to Kenny Rogers and Vince Gill concerts with her husband, baking for her loved ones, and reading everything she could get her hands on - from People magazine to James Patterson. She cultivated a love of these talents in her daughter and grandchildren, to whom she devoted the later years of her life. To know Mama Vallie was to know a love and loyalty that knew no bounds, and the light she has instilled on this Earth will never dim.

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never die.”

John 11:25-26

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A Memorial Service will be held at a date TBD in the Spring of 2026 at Woodlawn Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.

660 Thompson Ln, Nashville, Tennessee 37204

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In lieu of flowers, at this time our family requests all donations be made to the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Association at Alz.org. Thank you!

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Our family wishes to send a special thank you during this time to the staff at The Lodge at Natchez Trace and the staff at LifeCare Center of Columbia, Tennessee for their care and compassion for our beloved Mama Vallie during her end-of-life journey.