Anita Lucille Stevens, 80, a 28-year resident of the Carroll Golden Age Retreat, passed away in her sleep Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.
She was born May 27, 1945, the sixth of eight children born to the late Tommy and Luci Stevens. Complications during the home delivery left Anita with mental and physical challenges that had her doctor convinced she would not live past 17 years. True to her stubborn nature, Anita outlived them all, and her so-called disabilities became her superpower. She had a way of making all who knew her love her.
Anita loved anything red, especially purses and ink pens. She also loved music, and many a Pat Boone or Elvis Presley record was played on her record player. Anita also loved to write, and while it may have looked like scribbling to many, those stacks of pages were her way of saying she loved you — and possibly included an order to get her the only thing she loved more than family, the color red or music — chicken.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, David Stevens, and two sisters, Barb Stewart and Shirley Lucas.
She is survived by her brother, Richard (Jeanne) Stevens; her sisters, Ellen Sexton, Linda Brown and Judy (Leroy) VanHorne; many nieces and nephews and their families; and her extended family of friends and staff at the Golden Age Retreat.
Calling hours were Tuesday, Aug. 26, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Allmon-Dugger-Cotton Funeral Home.
The funeral took place Wednesday, Aug. 27, at 11 a.m., also at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, monetary donations may be made in Anita’s memory to Carroll Golden Age Retreat, 2202 Kensington Rd., Carrollton, OH 44615.
