Merle Elizabeth (Kluttz) Stephenson

Merle Stephenson passed away in Tuscaloosa, AL on July 3, 2017, following a short period of declining health.

Born Merle Elizabeth Kluttz in Salisbury, NC on February 19, 1929, she was the daughter of Keiffer Alexander Kluttz and Helen Beulah Holshouser Kluttz. Merle was a 1946 graduate of Boyden High School and a 1948 graduate of Pfeiffer Junior College (now Pfeiffer University). She married Edwin Clark Stephenson on May 3, 1952, and they raised three sons in Charlotte. At various times she worked as a secretary for St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Third Presbyterian Church, McClintock Middle School, and NCNB / NationsBank.

She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; her sister, Ruth Louise Kluttz Peeler, of Faith, NC, and Bulls Gap, TN; and her brother, Armond Lee Kluttz, of Salisbury.

She is survived by three sons: Ed Stephenson and wife Karen Tenbarge, of Tuscaloosa; Tom Stephenson and wife Tara Stephenson, of Swarthmore, PA; and David Stephenson of Durham, NC; as well as four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren: Anna Stephenson and husband Victor Martinez, Rachel, Alex, and Will Stephenson, and Jacob and Camille Martinez.

Merle was an active member of Amity Presbyterian Church in Charlotte for more than 50 years. She was deeply committed to the Friendship Trays program and cherished the annual family reunions at Ocean Isle Beach. Merle moved to the Capstone Village retirement community in Tuscaloosa in 2014 shortly after receiving the Outstanding Older Adult Award from the Presbytery of Charlotte. She lived a long and rewarding life, taught her descendants many things of value, and will be remembered fondly by all who knew her.

The funeral and burial will take place at Amity Presbyterian Church on Thursday, July 6. The family will be receiving friends in the parlor at 1:00 p.m. and the service will commence in the sanctuary at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Amity Presbyterian.

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