06/07/1950 - 06/03/2018
Margaret Lou Dehart Stephens of Shooting Creek, NC, passed away on Sunday, June 3rd at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, TN, after a brief illness. She was born 68 years ago this week in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Clay County, the only place she ever wanted to live. She was the third of four children of the late William “Earl” Dehart and Mary Lou Dailey Dehart. Margaret was raised mostly by her maternal grandmother, Zoah Hogsed Dailey in the Shooting Creek community. Times were tough for most folks in Clay County then and Margaret would often tell stories about those lean times. She would talk about how as a little girl, the red clay stained the soles of her bare feet as she ran through the green woods and splashed through clear creeks and as she walked along the dirt road with her grandmother to the little community store.
In her 30's and while working full-time as a teaching assistant, Margaret enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program in teaching at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC. She was fiercely dedicated to achieving this goal and graduated with honors. She took great pride in her work as an educator at Hayesville High School and especially enjoyed working with struggling learners.
Margaret had many passions. She was an avid Civil War buff who collected dozens of books on Civil War history. She adored Elvis Presley and his music. She was an animal lover. Any stray cat that wandered by her home could always find food and shelter there. She loved Dodge Chargers and could often be seen driving on US 64 between Shooting Creek and Hayesville in her own silver Charger.
Margaret was married to Kineth Stephens for 26 years until he passed away. Together they raised two daughters, Kim Kirkland and Tammy Stephens. Kim married Salim Cherif. They have one young son, Cooper, and live in Naples, FL. Tammy married Laura Wood. They live in Englewood, FL.
In addition to her daughters and grandson, Margaret is survived by her sister, Shirley Maney of Shooting Creek who became her close companion and friend in her later years and Shirley’s husband Cecil Maney; her uncle, Bill Dailey of Shooting Creek; her sisters-in-law, Lynn Dehart, Nancy Dehart, and Louise Reid; and her many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her brothers, Jimmy Dehart and Jackie Dehart. Margaret will be missed by all.
A celebration of life will be held at the Townson-Rose Funeral Home Chapel of Hayesville on Saturday, June 9 from 2pm – 4pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Valley River Humane Society at 7450 US-19, Marble, NC 28905 or by phone at (828) 837-2304.
Townson-Rose Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.