'Nothing could stop' Naperville's Kay Stephens
"There's always a long sleep at the end," Kay Stephens of Naperville would say as she kept a busy schedule of charitable activities, music, gardening, training dogs, helping children with special needs and raising a family with her husband, John.
Stephens' long sleep has come, her daughter Ginger Terlep said Saturday. But the philanthropist, pianist and educator fought it to the end.
On the day Kay Leonard Stephens died - on Tuesday at 81 - she was up and walking, her daughter said. She even had dinner plans. What kept her going was not her failing lungs, but her will and spirit, Stephens' nurses told family.
"Nothing could stop her," Terlep said.
Stephens helped form the Naperville Heritage Society and Naper Settlement in 1969. She planned antique shows, hosted Christmas pageants, developed a weed garden now managed by Weed Ladies, wrote a book about Naperville in the 1970s and created the music education program at Little Friends Inc., which serves people with autism. Stephens trained dogs to participate in muddy outdoor field trials when this was uncommon among women, and when her husband died, she created a pet education and training scholarship in his name to benefit the Animal Assisted Therapy program at Edward Hospital.
"That doesn't even tell it all," Terlep said.
Stephens should be remembered for her energy and generosity, her daughter said.
"She always said 'There's so much need in the world,' and she always felt like she couldn't give enough, " Terlep said.
Stephens was born April 7. 1933, in LaPorte, Indiana. She graduated in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in music education from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and married fellow student John Lewis Stephens.
The couple had four children - Susan, John, Ginger and Jane - and moved to Naperville in 1965.
Soon they were involved with starting the Naperville Heritage Society. The church where Stephens was music director, St. John's Episcopal, had been deemed obsolete and needed to be moved so its 1890s-era building could be saved. The heritage society found a spot on city-owned land across from the municipal center, at a site now known as Naper Settlement.
A memorial service for Stephens will be held inside that same church, now called Century Memorial Chapel, at noon Saturday, Oct. 11, at 523 S. Webster St.
Aside from leading musical at church, Stephens helped bring music education to Little Friends when Krejci Academy opened. Terlep said her mother helped special-needs children communicate through songs. Stephens found singing instructions, such as "it's time to line up now," instead of saying them in a sentence, got better results among children with learning challenges.
"She just started to realize what worked," Terlep said.
In 1986 at age 53, Stephens received a master's degree in music from Northern Illinois University. Later in life, she often could be found gardening or volunteering at Edward Hospital with her dog, Tuxie.
She is survived by her four children, nine grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
After the memorial at noon Oct. 11, a reception will take place at Meson Sabika, 1025 Aurora Ave. Internment will be private. Memorial donations can be made to the Naperville Heritage Society, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville, IL 60540 or to the Edward Foundation Attn: AAT: Kay L. Stephens Memorial Fund, 801 S. Washington St., Naperville, IL 60540.