Jane Taylor Stephenson, widow of J. C. Stephenson, Jr., died peacefully at her home in Boykins, VA, January 1, 2018. Born June 3, 1922, Mrs. Stephenson was the second child and only daughter of J. G. Taylor of Lenoir County, NC and his wife, Ruth Martin Sloop Taylor of Cabarrus County, NC. Her two brothers, J. G. Taylor, Jr. and Wharey Sloop Taylor predeceased her.

Following her childhood years in Kinston, NC, Mrs. Stephenson entered boarding school at Pineland College and graduated in1939. She remained at the school for her freshman and sophomore years of college graduating in1941. From there, she entered Miss Hardbarger's School in Raleigh, NC, where she learned to type and take shorthand. At various times in her professional career, her work included that for the FBI, Washington, DC, Northampton County, NC, Southampton County, VA and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

In 1942, she married her husband, a proud son of Northampton County, NC. Following World War II, she moved with her husband and son Nick to Severn, NC, a few miles from the border of Virginia. There, two more children were born, a son who died in infancy and a daughter Ruth. In 1955, the family moved to Boykins, VA, three miles across the North Carolina border where she made her home for 62 years. Mrs. Stephenson was an active member of her church, serving in many capacities through the years. She was a former member of the Junior Woman's Club, later the Tararra Woman's Club and the Kirby Music and Literary Club. She served two terms on the board of Paul D. Camp Community College, often mentioning her pleasure to have served during the building and opening of the college's Work Force Center.

For a number of years, Mrs. Stephenson was active in the Fine Arts Foundation at Chowan College, a junior college located in Murfreesboro, NC. When she learned that the school intended to return to its status as a four-year-degree-granting institution, she enrolled (at 70 years of age) as a member of the new junior class and finished her degree with honors.

Surviving are her son, J. C. Stephenson III, of Richmond and Boykins, VA, her daughter, Ruth S. Thomas and husband John, her grandson, John S. Thomas and wife Rebecca and their children Landon, Luke and Savannah Jane Thomas, and her granddaughter Anne T. Freeman and husband Steven, all of Raleigh, NC. Additional survivors include three first cousins, three nieces, five nephews and their children.

Mrs. Stephenson's memorial service will be at 11.00 am on Saturday, January 6, 2018 in the Boykins Baptist Church, Boykins, VA.

Memorial contributions may be made to Boykins Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, P. O. Box 347, Boykins, VA 23827 or The Division of Workforce Development, PDCCC, attention Renee Brown, 100 North College Drive, Franklin, VA 23851. www.wrightfuneralhome.org