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Category: Obituaries Obituaries
Published: 25 September 2014 25 September 2014

Edna Lucille (Peterson) Stevens passed away peacefully on the night of September 23, 2014 and went to be with her Savior and her husband John Frank Stevens who preceded her in death.

A memorial service will be this Saturday, September 27, 2014 at 10 o’clock in the morning at Baca’s Funeral Chapels. 

Lucille was born at Elevenpoint Arkansas to George and Della (Brewer) Peterson. Lucille was the fourth of six children. She was educated in small one room school in the hills of Arkansas. After 8th grade Lucille continued her education by reading everything she could get her hands on. As a teenager during World War II she went to Little Rock, AR and worked in an ordnance plant measuring gunpowder for detonators for artillery shells. She worked there a year and then traveled to Alameda, CA with her lifelong friend Lalla Stevens to work in the Oakland Alameda shipyard. Lucille worked as a welder building the troop carrier USS Admiral W.S. Benson. In early 1941, Lucille became engaged to Frank Stevens, Lalla’s brother. They were married on April 13, 1944 while Frank was on leave from the Army. In 1945 Lucille contracted tuberculosis and entered a sanatorium in Booneville, Arkansas and remained there for 16 months. She recovered from the disease and on Feb 19, 1948 gave birth to her son Stanley in Pocahontas, Arkansas. On July 9, 1952, she gave birth to her second son Dale in Metropolis, Illinois. For the next 9 years, they lived on the small family farm near Dalton, Arkansas. In 1961 they relocated to Deming, NM for the dry climate.For a time Lucille worked as a seamstress and made everything from men’s suits to prom dresses working out of her home on Nickel Street. For the next 25+ years Lucille worked as an Avon representative in Deming and Luna county achieving high levels of success and winning many awards for her sales. In 1999 Lucille was diagnosed with breast cancer. The diagnosis was surgery or maybe live 5 yrs. With the help of her now sister-in-law Lalla, she treated herself with an all natural diet and juicing and became a cancer survivor. In 2005 she retired from Avon to devote her time to caring for her husband who was in ill health. Lucille enjoyed spending time with her family, reading the Bible and attending church services at the Ninth Street Church of Christ. She also enjoyed gardening and visiting with friends and took great joy in her grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

Lucille is survived by her sister Reola Langer of Jordan, Minnesota, sons Stanley(Chris), Dale(Anna) of Deming, grandchildren Laura Wills, Mark Stevens, Autumn Harmon, Angela Hanchett and 10 great grandchildren.