Stephen Lewis Sanders

Stephen Lewis Sanders died Tuesday evening, May 28, after losing a battle with lung cancer. He was surrounded by family and friends that will miss him dearly. Known to his friends as Steve, he was born July 24, 1944 to George and June Sanders (Tippett) in Dallas, Texas. Steve attended Kemper Military Academy from 1956 until his graduation in 1962. During his

academic career Steve set a world record for ‘twisting’ the longest at a time of 15 hours and 2 minutes; earning him a somewhat celebrity status. After his graduation Steve enlisted in the United States Army where he served as a Special Forces Combat Engineer. Being a Green Beret was Steve’s second favorite accomplishment (his first was his beautiful daughters). He served in 3rd Group and 5th Group for the Green Berets where he earned a Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal,

Army Exploratory Medal among numerous medals and commendations. Shortly after leaving the Army Steve met and married the love of his life, Jane Foster Sanders on April 7, 1973 at University Park United Methodist Church. He and Jane had a love of RC cars and other models and opened a hobby store, 110 Hobby Place and Toy in the mid seventies just off

of Meadow Road. On January 15, 1981 his and Jane’s dream came true and they were able to adopt twin girls, Christina and Stephanie. In 1985 Steve was able to realize another dream; turning his love of coin collecting into a lucrative business. His honesty and professionalism earned him respect throughout the coin collecting and precious metal world. The things that family and friends will remember most is Steve’s ability to do the right thing, every single time. His knack for

business, his moral compass and his compassion for others was always right on course. If you needed advice for anything, then you asked Mr. Sanders. Whatever he said went, no questions asked. Steve’s love of business and making money was rivaled only by his love of his family, his girls as he called them. Steve is preceded in death by his father George Sanders, his mother June Tippett Sanders Lynch, his step-father William Lynch, his sister Francine McCallum, his father in law Marshall Eugene Foster and his brother in law Gene Foster. He is survived by his wife Mary Jane Sanders, his daughter Stephanie Sanders and her fiance Terry Smith, his grandson James Stephen and grand daughter Lillian Elizabeth; his

daughter Christina Sanders and her fiance Cody Smith and their children Grady Bryce and William Lewis; his sister Karen Busby and her daughters Kelly Busby and Kiki Busby Simpson and her husband William and grand daughter Emory; his niece Laurie McCallum Hoffman and her husband Dillion; his nephew Craig McCallum and his wife Pam; his mother in law Evie Gooch Foster; his sister in law Gooch Foster; his sister in law Martha Love Underwood and her husband Charles; his sister in law Marsha Mundy and her husband Charles; and his sister in law Edith Foster along with numerous nieces and nephews. He will be missed by his many close friends. Visitation will be at 9:00 a.m. Friday, May 31, 2013 at Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home. The funeral will follow at 10:00 a.m. also at Sparkman Hillcrest.