Rhonda Ellen Stephens

Funeral services for Mrs. Rhonda Stephens, 68, of Elderville will be held on Friday, July 8, 2022, at 2:00 P.M. at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Longview with Reverend Dennis J. Bragdon officiating. Burial will follow at the Woodlawn Cemetery near Marshall. The family will receive friends at the funeral home in Kilgore from 6:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. on Thursday.

Rhonda Ellen Hudson Stephens, beloved daughter, wife, mother, Maw-Maw, aunt and friend to many, received her crown of glory on July 5, 2022. She was the first daughter born to Arden Ellis and Barbara Hudson on March 28, 1954. Rhonda was raised in Woodlawn, TX with her two sisters, Debbie and Brenda. A 1972 graduate of Marshall High School, she was a Marshall Mavette and met the love of her life, Rudy Stephens II. They were married at Woodlawn Baptist Church on June 2, 1973 and were soon blessed with two sons, Rudy Harrison III and Daniel Arden. After moving to Longview, they followed Aunt Ruby Hudson to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church where she became an active member serving as Sunday School Teacher, Superintendent, member of the Board of Education as well as the LWML (Lutheran Women’s Missionary League). She was a faithful servant of God in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod for more than 37 years.

Rhonda worked in various occupational fields before going to work for Frank and Sue Brown in Kilgore, eventually becoming a personal assistant and bookkeeper to Sue with her involvement in the Texas Shakespeare Festival and Kilgore Historical Preservation. They shared a working relationship but soon became friends.

Rhonda is preceded in death by her father, A.E. Hudson; her sister, Brenda Ramsey; and her youngest son Danny Stephens. She is survived by her loving husband of 49 years, Rudy Stephens II; her oldest son, Rudy Stephens III of Longview, his wife Christen, and grandchildren, Taylor and Maggie Stephens, her sister Debbie Sullivan of Nesbitt and husband Mike; her mother, Barbara Hudson of Woodlawn; along with nieces, nephews, cousins and many friends of the heart.

In lieu of flowers the family ask that memorial contributions be made to her church Our Redeemer Lutheran Church @ 1300 Judson Road, Longview, Texas 75601.