Yvonne Ruth Rice Stephenson

Yvonne Stephenson passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 15, 2024. She was born on December 22, 1940 in Westwood, Lassen County, California, the third of six children born to William Edward Rice and Isabelle Berrett Rice.

Shortly after Yvonne’s birth, the family moved to St. Anthony, Idaho, where they lived until returning to Westwood. Yvonne lived in Northern California for the rest of her childhood. She attended schools in Westwood, Susanville, Redding, and Red Bluff, where she graduated from Red Bluff High School.

Yvonne graduated from Brigham Young University, majoring in history. She taught high school in Circleville, Utah before serving a mission in Austria for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

While working in Washington, DC, for the U.S. Department of Justice, Yvonne met her beloved husband, Loran Dean Stephenson, Jr. They married in 1972 in the Salt Lake City temple of the Church.

Yvonne and Loran raised their five children in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. Loran served as a cellist in the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC, and Yvonne sometimes went abroad with him when the orchestra toured.

Yvonne served faithfully in many callings in the Church, including as an ordinance worker in the Washington, DC temple and, subsequently, in the Denver, Colorado temple. She especially loved, and was talented in, teaching. Music always was an important part of Yvonne’s life, and she especially loved singing in choirs. She also was a prolific writer of stories and poems. After Loran retired, Yvonne and Loran moved to Colorado, where they lived in Littleton.

Yvonne is survived by her husband, Loran Stephenson; son, Ed Stephenson; Gainesville, VA; daughter, Angela Felsted; Locust Grove, VA; son, Evan Stephenson; Bow Mar, CO; son, Brent Stephenson; Annandale, VA; and daughter, Heather Huling; Columbia, MD; 16 grandchildren; sister, Jan Rice Phillips; and brothers, William C. and Stephen Edward Rice. She was preceded in death by her parents; and sisters, Kathleen Rice and Marlene Rice Hillam.

A viewing will be held on Friday, June 28, 2024 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Horan & McConaty, 5303 E. County Line Rd., Centennial, Colorado 80122.

A funeral for Yvonne will be held Saturday, June 29, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to noon at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 910 W. Ridge Rd, Littleton, Colorado 80120.

The service will be livestreamed. Please use this link to participate virtually: https://bxcited.com/yvonne-ruth-rice-stephenson/

Yvonne will be laid to rest at Fort Logan National Cemetery, 3698 S. Sheridan Blvd., in Denver, Colorado on Monday, July 1, 2024 at 9:00am.