Mae Azile "Jill" Stepherson's Obituary
Mae Azile “Jill” Simmons Stepherson, 94, went to be with her Lord on February 17, 2018. She was born June 30, 1923 in Birmingham, AL to Howard and Pearl Putnam. In the 1960’s when her husband, John C. Simmons, decided to start an independent data processing firm in the very early days of computers, she taught herself to program and operate large mainframe computers to get the business started. Later she applied those skills to become the University of Tennessee’s first female systems analyst. She also wrote the innovative source code for the Simmons Personal Survey which is still used by businesses today for employee selection and personal development. 17 years after the passing of her husband she married Kenneth Stepherson, a lifelong friend of the family, a southern gentleman, a founder of the Stepherson Big Stars as well as the still popular Superlo Foods and patriarch of a loving and kind family. Jill was preceded in death by her husbands and is survived by her children, Bonnie McAdams (Dan), Steve Simmons (Tina) and John Simmons (Sherrye), 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. Jill is also survived by Ken’s 5 children, Judy Reed (Bob), Randy Stepherson (Marti), Beth Berry (Brent), Susan Cox (Chip), Jack Stepherson (Monique), 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Visitation will be held at Memorial Park Cemetery on Monday, February 19 at 1:00 PM with the funeral service following at 2:00 PM. A private burial will be held in Memphis National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Memphis Union Mission or the charity of your choice.Mae Azile Stepherson’s Tribute Slideshow may be viewed here: https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/98CTCM45CBXSF4M3Arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave., Memphis, TN 38119 (901) 767-8930. “Celebrating Life… Behind the Stone Wall”.
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