Sanford Daniel Stephens, Jr.

Saturday, September 9, 2017 Sanford Daniel Stephens, Jr. lost his 88 year battle with life. Known as “Saint” to friends and family, he was born April 23, 1929, the only son to Sanford Daniel and Mary Rucker Stephens in Wilkes County, Georgia.
He is preceded in death by his late wife, Martha Bigham Stephens; his 1st son, Sanford Daniel Stephens, III; and his 1st daughter, Ann Lisa Stephens.
He leaves behind a son, Richard Wylie Stephens, partner, Carol V. Newsome of Greensboro; a daughter, Melissa S. Schmidt, husband, David C. Schmidt of Hickory; and a sister, Sybil S. Burnette, husband, Kenneth Burnette of Union Mills; and longtime friend, Joneal Ferree of Morganton.
As a youth, he split his time between NC and GA. While growing up in Oak Hill he achieved Life Scout in the Boy Scouts under the leadership of W.R. Williams. He graduated Morganton High School in 1947. He attended N.C. State College on a football scholarship and later Lenoir Rhyne College. In his early teens, he worked along with his parents and other family members in Tennessee at the Oak Ridge Plant on the then secret Manhattan Project. Stephens made his living in the electrical contracting business. He acquired his contractor’s license at age 21 and maintained them for the next 66 years.
He was a York Rite Master Mason and Shriner and belonged to the Catawba Valley Masonic Lodge #217 from 1954 to his death, He was a lifetime member of the American Angus Association. In earlier years, he was a member of the Morganton Elks Lodge, he also was an avid golfer and belonged to the Mimosa Hills Golf Club.
Stephens had been in declining health for the past year. There will be a private service at Burke Memorial Park at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, September 12, 2017.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Arthritis Foundation, 200 E. Woodlawn Rd. Suite 156, Charlotte, NC 28216 or The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 4530 Park Road, Suite 240, Charlotte, NC 28209 or Shriners Hospitals for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607.
Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center is assisting the family with the arrangements.