Obituary of Annette Kay Stephenson

WOODLAND PARK, COLORADO—Annette Kay Stephenson, 61, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, September 14, 2016, at the Sundance Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after a courageous battle with throat cancer. She was born on November 12, 1954, in Islip, New York, to Kennard F. Stephenson Jr. and Ann Elmore Stephenson (both deceased). Annette was the third of six children and, because her father was a chemical engineer who relocated several times, she grew accustomed to moving to new places. She was raised in Islip, New York; Southport, Connecticut; Croton-on-Hudson, New York; Rensselaerville, New York; East Aurora, New York; and Basking Ridge, New Jersey. She had a special affection for Rensselaerville where she spent summers and holidays with her grandparents, Katharine (Huyck) and Lee Elmore, lived there twice as a year-round resident, and visited often as an adult. She attended the Rensselaerville two-room schoolhouse in the 1960s—she and her two older sisters delighted at being in the same classroom together and loved having Mrs. Henrietta Rice as their teacher. Later she attended the Greenville Central School in Greenville, New York. After graduating from Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, in 1972, Annette struck out for adventures in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she attended the University of New Mexico, met and married her husband (whom she later divorced), and gave birth to her son Richard. With all her childhood experience of adapting to new places, she wasn't afraid to continuing moving around and lived in Aurora, Colorado; Piscataway, New Jersey; and Chester, Easton, and Bethelem, Pennsylvania before moving to Crestwood, Kentucky, to be near her father and two of her brothers. She lived there for more than 20 years and provided loving care to her father in his final years as he struggled against cancer. In 2013, she returned to Colorado, this time to Woodland Park where she took a part-time job in her sister Elizabeth's small-business accounting firm. When she wasn't working, Annette could be seen tooling around town in her a little blue Volkswagen Beetle. She wasn't crazy about the cold winters in Colorado but she sure loved the sunny days. She enjoyed collecting all things peacock, solving crossword puzzles, sewing, embroidering, doing other crafts, and keeping up with far-flung friends and family through phone calls, texting, e-mail, and Facebook. She especially enjoyed reconnecting with Rensselaerville friends through the Facebook page "You know you live in Rensselaerville when." She is survived by her son Richard Whitley and his wife Nikki of Louisville, Kentucky; her sister Laura Carter and husband Geoff of Montgomery Village, Maryland; her sister Elizabeth Zuercher and husband Fred of Florissant, Colorado; her brother James Stephenson and his wife Marilyn of Bound Brook, New Jersey; nieces Caitlin and Annie Stephenson and Sarah and Emily Carter; nephews Kennard Stephenson and Fred and Andy Zuercher; and several cousins. She was preceded in death by the two brothers who lived in Kentucky—Lee Stephenson (2011) and Kennard Stephenson (2012)—her father (2012), and her mother (1985). A memorial service is planned for the spring in Rensselaerville. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations, in Annette's name, may be made to the E.N. Huyck Preserve, P.O. Box 189, Rensselaerville, N.Y., 12147. To leave a condolence message, go to http://ajcunninghamfh.com.