Hazel Inez Stephenson Gray

Hazel Inez Stephenson Gray was born September 15, 1914, in St. Charles, Arkansas, the daughter of Felix Edward and Cora Lea Stephenson. Upon completing the ninth grade her family moved to DeWitt, Arkansas, where she graduated from high school in 1933. It was during this time that she met the man she would later marry. On January 31, 1940, in Texarkana, Arkansas, Hazel married Max Edward Gray. The couple remained residents of DeWitt where she worked as cashier and bookkeeper for Arkansas Power and Light Company, a position she later relinquished to become a full-time housewife and mother. She was an active member in the DeWitt First Methodist Church, the DeWitt Study Club, the DeWitt Garden Club, and a member of the PTA and band parents. She served as a Girl Scout leader for many years. Upon Max's retirement in 1988, the couple moved to Dumas where they became members of the First United Methodist Church. They resided in Dumas for 19 years and celebrated 67 years together. Following Max's death in 2007, she moved to a retirement village in Springdale, Arkansas, where she was blessed with the ability to live independently and make many friends who would become her loving extended family. Hazel was an inspiration to her family and to all who knew her. Her ability to live independently until age 104, her strong will, and her drive and determination to maintain the perfection in her life that she had always known made her an example to everyone. She made the best of each and every day, regardless of the situation. A very social person, her family, faith and friends were of utmost importance to her and, according to her, the things that kept her going. She had a genuine sweetness about her that automatically attracted people to her. On December 1, 2018, Hazel went to be with her heavenly father and her family that predeceased her, her father, Felix Edward Stephenson Sr., her mother, Cora Lea McGraw Stephenson, four brothers, Felix Stephenson Jr., Kermit Stephenson, Glen Stephenson and Wayne Stephenson, and one sister, Wanda Stephenson Turner. Surviving are her daughter, Maxine Elisabeth Gray Stubbs, and husband, David, of Fayetteville, two grandchildren, Shanna Stubbs Boney and husband, Jamey, of Marion, Arkansas, and Dr. Scott Stubbs and wife, Jenna, of Cave Springs, Arkansas. She is survived by four great-grandchildren, James Edward (Jase) Boney, III, Avery Elisabeth Boney, Weston David Stubbs and Maci Layne Stubbs. Friends may visit Essex Funeral Home in DeWitt on Tuesday, December 4th and 5th and Griffin Funeral Home on December 6th and 7th. Family will receive friends at First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall in Dumas on Saturday, December 8, from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. with the service following at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary in Dumas. Interment will be in the DeWitt Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the DeWitt Cemetery Association, c/o Flora Sisemore, P.O. Box 511, DeWitt, Arkansas 72042.