Steven Austin Stokes

Steven Austin Stokes, 49, died Tuesday evening, March 11, 2008, in Abilene, Texas. Funeral services will be at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, March 15 at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road. Burial will follow in the Elliott-Hamil Garden of Memories Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday at the funeral home. July 14, 1958, Steven was born in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, son of Herbert E. (Herb) Stokes and Dorothy (Dottie) Stokes. He attended schools in Lea wood Kansas, Dallas, and Cincinnati and graduated from Westover High School in Albany, Georgia in 1977, where he was on the varsity football team for three years. He attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia for a year and then transferred to Texas A & M University to study Marketing. Steven joined his father in Oplin, Texas in 1982 to form the Rosebud Red Angus Cattle Breeding Operation. He served as manager until 1993, when he left to take a position with Texas Instruments in their distribution operation in Temple, Texas. When TI outsourced their warehousing and distribution operations to Exel Distribution, Steven then moved to Keller, Texas to help set up their operation in the Alliance Industrial Park. Several years ago, Steven was injured in an automobile accident causing him to become partially disabled. He returned to Abilene in 2003 to recuperate from his injuries and work with his brother, George (Tony), as a land surveyor for Enprotec / Hibbs & Todd engineering firm. The automobile accident left him with severe internal injuries which eventually led Steven to a stroke about a year ago. His gentle and caring spirit will be missed by all. Steven was an avid sports fan and enjoyed music and the outdoors. Watching falling stars on a frosty winter night was a major love of his. He loved watching the History channel and was especially fascinated with World War II. This was intriguing to him because of his father's service during the war. He spent a great deal of his time reading books pertaining to the war. Steven is survived by his father Herbert E. Stokes, of Abilene; three brothers, John Scott Stokes and his wife Lynn, of Arlington, Texas; George (Tony) Anthony Forbis-Stokes and his wife Nancy, of Potosi, Texas; Mark Alan Stokes and his wife Elma, of Manassas, Virginia; one aunt, Helen Francis and her daughters Su-Zan and Melissa. He was preceded in death by his mother in 2005. Pallbearers will be his nephews, John and Aaron Forbis-Stokes and Jeffery Stokes, his cousins, Dick and Greg Morgan, and his friend, Steve (Butch) Reneau. The family of Steven would like to thank Charlene Archa, Carolyn Porch, and the staff of the Elm Creek Alternative Care for the kindness and care given to Steven. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in honor of Steven Stokes to Rescue The Animals, 4620 North 1st Street, Abilene, Texas 79603.