Joyce Stephens

Joyce Clara Marburger Stephens died Friday, January 20, 2017, in Bastrop, Texas at the age of 102. Interment will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in Smithville, Texas.

Mrs. Stephens, the daughter of Max and Clara Mensing Marburger, was born at the family home in Cistern, Texas, on August 6, 1914. She married Franklin Fox Stephens on May 1, 1937, in Smithville, Texas. She is preceded in death by her husband, parents and three sisters. She is survived by sons Franklin Doss Stephens of Phoenix, Arizona, and Joel Fox Stephens of Georgetown, Texas, and daughters Sara Joyce Stephens Summers of Austin, Texas, and Jean Marie Stephens Barker of Flatonia, Texas. Survivors also include six grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.

As a young child, Mrs. Stephens moved with her family from Cistern to Smithville, Texas. She was valedictorian of Smithville High School, class of 1932. She graduated from Draughon Business School in San Antonio, Texas, where she met her husband. She resided in Texas throughout her life and for many of her later years, she and her husband were involved in bird banding activities with the Highland Lakes Birding Association. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Audubon Society.

There will be a private family memorial service on February 11, 2017.

Arrangements under the direction of Marrs-Jones-Newby Funeral Home, Bastrop, TX.