Virginia Tillis Stephens

Virginia Tillis Stephens of Tallahassee passed away on April 5, 2016 at the age of 95. She will be buried at Woodland Cemetery in Havana beside her husband of sixty years, Alvin O. Stephens, who died in 2005.

Virginia grew up in Havana, Florida, the elder daughter of Osie M. and Elma Turner Tillis. She was graduated from Havana High School as Valedictorian of the class of 1938. In that year she married Alvin O. Stephens. The family lived in Havana until 1963, when Virginia and Alvin moved to Atlanta; they lived there for twenty years. Virginia worked as an executive secretary at Cox Broadcasting Corporation, and made a number of trips abroad as a member of the company's Travel Club.

In 1981, the couple retired to central Florida where they played golf almost every day for a number of years, with Virginia's hole-in-one a highlight of their golfing days. The Stephenses retired again in 1991, this time to Tallahassee where they became active members of Pisgah United Methodist Church.

In Tallahassee, Virginia joined the Caroline Brevard Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, as well as the Sasanqua Circle of the Tallahassee Garden Club. She was a member of several bridge clubs, and became an accomplished artist and craftsperson. Her woodcarvings of the Bald Eagle, America’s symbol, won a national award in a DAR art competition. Virginia was an avid reader, an ambitious writer, an excellent cook, a true pet lover, and surrounded herself with many close friends.

Virginia was the quintessential Southern lady, gracious and friendly, and she never met a stranger. Always interested in people, in general and individually, she easily made friends out of acquaintances.

She is survived by her three sons Larry Stephens of Havana, FL; Ronny Stephens of Raleigh, North Carolina; and Craig Stephens of Havana, FL. She has six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister,, Carolyn Tillis Crew of Whigham, Georgia.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Big Bend Hospice.