The funeral services for the late Mrs. Willie Mae Stephens of 602 S. Washington St., Sylvester, Georgia, who departed this life on Monday, July 3, 2023 at her residence, will be held on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. from the First African Baptist Church in Sylvester, Georgia. Bishop McArthur Rouse will deliver the Eulogy. Burial will follow in the Shepard Memorial Garden Cemetery in Sylvester, Georgia. Services may be viewed Facebook Live from the “Shipp's Funeral Home” Facebook page or by clicking the Video Stream link on this site's Home Page.

Mrs. Willie Mae [Brooks] Stephens was born to the late Mrs. Mattie Harris and the late Mr. Willie Boyd on October 17, 1937 in Sylvester, Georgia.

She accepted Christ at an early age and joined Macedonia Baptist Church in Sylvester, Georgia. Later in her life, Willie Mae moved her membership to Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Shingler, Georgia.

Willie Mae was joined in Holy Matrimony to Mr. Whitty Gene Stephens in 1956.

Willie Mae Stephens’ life came to an uncertain end on Monday, July 3, 2023, at her home. Her parents, Mattie Harris and Willie Boyd, her husband, Whitty Gene Stephens, her sister, Daisy Washington, and four brothers, William Boyd, Jack Boyd, Johnny Lee Boyd, and Melvin Powell, have all preceded her in death.

Willie Mae leaves to celebrate her life and cherish her memories a daughter, Thelma (Robert) Sims of Oxford, Georgia; three sons, William (Dollie) Stephens of Moultrie, Georgia, Gregory (Josie) Stephens of Hopemill, North Carolina, and Kanta Stephens of Sylvester, Georgia; twelve grandchildren, and fifteen great grandchildren; two sisters, Mary Helen Dye, Imogene Davis, both of Sylvester, Georgia; one brother, Will Powell of Sylvester, Georgia; three sisters-in-law, Shirley Smith, Mary Jones, Veola Boyd; a special friend, Shirley Alford; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, loving friends and other family members.

Willie Mae’s fighting spirit and strength endured throughout.