Mary Rawles Jones Stephenson, 101, passed away Aug. 24, 2010.

She was the daughter of the late Brock D. and Selma G. Jones, and was predeceased by her husband, Ernest Haywood Stephenson, and seven siblings.

Mary Rawles was a member of Suffolk Christian Church for 72 years, where she was involved in Saints Alive and the West Memorial Bible Class. She was a 1931 graduate of Elon College. Mary Rawles taught for six years in Whaleyville and in Holland, Va. She began Mrs. Stephenson’s Kindergarten and taught in her home for 29 years. Mary Rawles was also a member of the Suffolk Social Club.

Survivors include her daughter, Becky S. Van Brackle, of Richmond; step-daughter, Peggy S. Stone, of Virginia Beach; son, Ernest H. Stephenson Jr., of Richmond; seven grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be conducted Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 at 11 a.m. at Suffolk Christian Church, 216 N. Main St., Suffolk, Va., by the Rev. Michael D. Halley and the Rev. John G. Truitt Jr., with burial in Cedar Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends in the R.W. Baker & Co. Funeral Home and Crematory, 509 W. Washington St., Suffolk, Va., on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to Suffolk Christian Church, West Memorial Bible Class, P.O. Box 1457, Suffolk, VA 23439 or to the Brock Darden & Selma Gertrude Rawles Jones Scholarship, Elon University, 2600 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244. Condolences may be registered at www.rwbakerfh.com.