Stephanie Powell Cecil's Obituary
Stephanie Powell Cecil crossed over into the next life on September 14, 2024.
Born 11.15.36 in the tiny phosphate town of Brewster, FL to Ernest M. and Maude Adams Powell, she was the 1954 valedictorian of Mulberry High School. While earning a B.S. in Business from Florida State University, she was active in her sorority, Alpha Xi Delta, sang in Choral Union, and began her lifelong love of reading mysteries. In 1958, she married her high school sweetheart, Richard R. Cecil of Mulberry, a chemical engineer and skilled jazz pianist. They lived in Baton Rouge, LA, for 10 years, with a four-year return to the University of FL for Richard’s doctorate work and the birth of their first two children. In Baton Rouge, the couple celebrated the birth of their third child. Stephanie sang with the Sweet Adelines barbershop chapter, worked as a tax preparer, and learned to play bridge.
The Cecils next spent 14 happy years in Mendham, NJ. While the couple raised their family, Stephanie was also a realtor, played in tennis and bridge leagues, and read avidly, becoming a member of the Dorothy L. Sayers Society. After she and Richard moved to Charlotte, NC, in 1987, Stephanie worked planning reunions for her hometown of Brewster, for her high school class, and for her sorority sisters, while serving her community as treasurer of its HOA committee. She also became a genealogist, compiling histories for her own and her husband’s families, which now include some 13,000 persons - most with photographs! She continued that work when she and Richard retired to Lakeland, FL, in 2011.
She was preceded in death by her sisters, Martha Elaine Powell and Janet Powell Lowery, both of Lakeland, FL. She will miss and be sorely missed by her husband, Richard, daughter, Sara, and sons, Benjamin and Jonathan, as well as extended family members and the many friends she made over her lifetime.
A visitation to celebrate the memory of her happy life will be held Fri. Sept 20th at 9 AM, with a service following at 10 AM, at Gentry-Morrison Southside Chapel in Lakeland. A graveside dedication will follow at Lakeland Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lighthouse Ministries of Lakeland, to the ASPCA, or to the Nature Conservancy.
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