Juanita Marie Stevens

Juanita Marie Stevens, age 89 of Columbus, passed away peacefully at home with her family on Monday, November 20, 2023. On November 29, 1933, she was born in Duck, West Virginia, to the late Bernie and Helen “Pauline” (Barr) Sirk, and on June 24, 1950, she married her soulmate, Arnold Stevens, a Korean War veteran.

Juanita worked at Banc One for 16 years. She was a beautiful singer and an incredible artisan – crafts, quilting, crocheting, baking, proficient at all. She also played clarinet, first chair in high school in Preston County, Terra Alta, West Virginia. She enjoyed her card club with Carol Lee and friends, and she was a staunch member of the Republican Party as well as a devout member of Trinity Baptist Church for years, where she taught Jet Cadets (Bible study) for the church youth.

She is survived by her son George B. (Vickie) Stevens; her daughter Kim (Brian McCoy) Rattan; 11 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and 10 great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband Arnold Stevens; her parents Bernie and Pauline Sirk; her sons Rodney A. Stevens and Mark A. Stevens; her grandchildren Nathan Rattan and Shawna Stevens; her sister Mary M. Mauldin; her brothers Billie S. Sirk, Bobby B. Sirk, and James L. Sirk; and 3 heavenly babies in Heaven.

Thank you to Bonnie K. Beetham, beloved niece, and Juanita’s various nieces and nephews, and a special thank-you to her fierce friends Carol Lee and Janet Webb. A special thank-you as well to Ohio Health Hospice in Columbus and her two granddaughters and one grandson, Rachel Grizzell, her private nurse, Ellie Scurlock, and Ben Rattan for their assistance in the days of her passing while in hospice.

A private graveside service will be held for the family on Friday, November 24, 2023 at 11 am at Marion Cemetery, and a formal celebration of her life will take place at a later date. Per her request, a picnic will be held in her honor, because that was how she met her sweetie.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in the name of her cat Gracie to your local ASPCA.

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