Stephen Wolf Sowell

Stephen Wolf Sowell, of Raeford, North Carolina, aged 36, loving son, grandson, brother, uncle, cousin, and husband, passed away at 2:30 am on January 21, 2021, due to complications suffered from a lifelong struggle with Type 1 Diabetes.Stephen is survived by: wife, Karen Sowell of Liberty, NC; mother Norma "Red" Hendrix and stepfather Jeff of Raeford; father Ricky Sowell and wife Kim, half brothers and sister, Caleb, Cody, and Jessica all of Rogers, Texas; sister Tiffany Mercer and her wife Jennifer of Towson, MD; maternal grandparents Dallie and Max Cooper of Salemburg, NC; and a host of loving aunts, uncles, cousins, and special friends.Stephen's great passion in life was music. He played the trumpet and guitar and had a lovely, low singing voice. He often left behind doodles of music lyrics wherever he went, hastily written verses of his favorite songs scribbled on a fence post, or the side of a barn, to remind himself of the world's beauty. Too shy to sing his own work in public, the recordings of his voice, singing songs he wrote himself, could always be found in the memory of his phone, often recorded while working the fields of his step father's farm.Stephen's greatest attribute, above all else, was his big and joyful heart, always ready to love, always ready to forgive, always open to life's next journey. In the final hours of his life, Stephen was taken into care by Carolina Donor Services, in the hopes that the tragedy of his death could afford life to a complete stranger.In memory of Stephen, his family asks that you register as an organ donor, and in lieu of flowers, asks for donations to Carolina Donor Services or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.Services have been entrusted to Crumpler Funeral Home of Raeford.