Celia Stephens Looper

Mrs. Celia Stephens Looper, 81, of Dalton, passed away, Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at her residence.
Preceded in passing by her husband John W. Looper, Jr.; her son, John W. Looper, III; her mother and father, Cecile Wood Stephens and John Raymond Stephens, all of Dalton.
Born in Rawlings, Wyoming, after her parents (both from Georgia) moved west to teach school near her aunt Lucy Wood Temple, in the Little Snake River Valley of Colorado and Wyoming. Her family returned to Whitfield County, Georgia, where she attended school through graduation from Dalton High School, where upon she attended and graduated from Georgia State College for Women. She married John W. Looper, Jr., late of Dalton, lived and taught school in Augusta, Georgia, where John, III, was born. She then lived in Baltimore, Maryland, while her husband completed his residency in Pediatrics, and where Amanda was born. The family returned to Dalton, where John W. Looper, Jr. began his medical practice, and where Paul and Peter were born.
She is survived by three children, Amanda, Sante Fe, New Mexico; Paul, Asheville, North Carolina; and, Peter, Asheville, North Carolina. Her three grandchildren, Michael Giudici, Catherine Looper and Macon Looper were very dear to her. She is also survived by her sister and brother in law, Betty Lou and John Larsen, Saratoga, Wyoming; and, by her nephew Michael Larsen; and, by her nieces, Paula Swann, Tinsley Swann Patterson, and Laurie Swann.
Celia spent summers working at Focus Ranch in Colorado as a teenager and visited there with her family numerous summers as an adult, where she loved horseback riding, wrangling and relaxing. She also enjoyed spending time at the family farm in Murray County. She loved the varied gifts of nature, and shared this love with her children, and grandchildren.
Celia was very involved with Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Dalton. She studied theological education at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and taught at St. Mark's. She sat on a number of Diocesan committees for the Dioceses of Atlanta.
Celia had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to laugh. She was able to see the light side of issues. She wag long a member of Dalton Garden Club, and loved to play bridge. She was a lifelong progressive in political matters, and championed racial equality, and equal rights for women.
Her family will miss her, all the while knowing that her spirit is now free from the hardships of her life on earth. May she be blessed with God's love, now and forever.
Memorial services will be at Noon on Monday, July 20, 2009 from St mark’s Episcopal Church with the Rev C. Dean Taylor officiating.
The family will receive friends in the Parrish Hall of the Church on Monday from 10 A. M. til the memorial service at Noon.
Burial will be in the St. Mark’s Church Memorial Gardens.
The family ask that flowers please be omitted and memorials be made to the John W. Looper, Jr. Speech and Hearing Clinic, 1011 Professional Blvd.. Dalton, GA. 30720 or to St Marks’s Episcopal Church Memorial Fund, P. O. Box 852, Dalton, GA. 30722-0852.
Words of comfort may be sent to the family at www.lovefuneralhomaega.com.
Love Funeral Home, 1402 N. Thornton Ave., Dalton (across from Hamilton Medical Center) is in charge of arrangements.