Carolyn Joy Terrell Stephens of Magee, Mississippi

Carolyn Joy Terrell Stephens went to be with her Lord on January 27, 2025, at Lakeview Assisted Living in Magee, MS. She was born on March 2, 1936, to Knox and  Enagene Corley Terrell in Jackson, MS. She married James Otis Stephens, M.D. on June 17, 1956.

Carolyn was a dedicated and cherished member of First Baptist Church of Magee, MS, where she found great joy singing with the choir, sharing her beautiful voice, and playing the piano for the children’s choir for many years. Her days were filled with selflessly sharing her many God-given talents with all who knew her. Carolyn’s creative gifts were endless; she used them selflessly every day of her life. Her innermost joy came from singing, dancing, painting, and creating the most delicious meals for her family. A talented artist and seamstress, there wasn’t anything that she couldn’t do with her own two hands. Living her own motto, “Creativity Never Sleeps,” her creative wheels were constantly spinning. Her interior designs gave life to homes and the families living within them. She truly left this world a more beautiful place than she found it.

Above all, she was the embodiment of love. She is a nurturing, selfless mother who poured her heart into the lives of her six children, sixteen grandchildren, and twenty great-grandchildren.  She lived her life with passion, creativity, and an unwavering love for those she held dear, leaving behind a lifetime of cherished memories that her family and friends will forever hold dear.

She was preceded in death by her husband, James Otis Stephens, M.D.; her parents, Knox and Enagene Corley Terrell; and grandson, Chris Calhoun.

She is survived by her children, daughter Stephani Stephens Calhoun (Paul) and her children, Carolyn Calhoun Honea (Breck), Corley Calhoun, and Cadie Calhoun, daughter Suzanne Stephens Grubbs (Mark), and her children, Keleigh Suzanne Carter Cleveland (Tres) and Mariel Carter Hubbard (Brandon),  Ryan Grubbs, son, Joseph Lawrence Stephens (Angela), and his children, Neal Stephens (Anna), Natalie Brown Stephens Herrington (Daniel), Mary Frances Stephens Youngblood (John), daughter, Sherilyn Stephens Hunt (Red), and her children, Sunnie Sibley Dixon (Carl) and Saralyn Sibley Hamilton (Chris), daughter, Carolyn Stephens Truscott, and her children, Lilly Truscott, Lucien K. Truscott V, Violet Truscott, and son, Benjamin Terrell Stephens (Amanda), and his children, Brandon Stephens, Wes Stephens along with a host of great-grandchildren.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, January 30, 2025, at First Baptist Church in Magee, MS, from 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM. The service will begin at 11:00, with Brother Buddy Keyes officiating. Interment will follow at Magee City Cemetery.