Tommy Dale Stephenson

Tommy Dale Stephenson, 73, of Quitman, Texas passed away on Tuesday, September 17, 2019, in Grand Saline, Texas. He was born in Commerce, Texas on May 28, 1946, to Marvin William Stephenson and Grace Lou Perkins Stephenson.

The family will receive friends at a visitation from 1:00-2:00 pm on Saturday, September 21 at Commerce Funeral Home and Cremation Service, with the funeral and graveside services immediately following.

Tommy graduated from Commerce High School in 1964, and graduated from East Texas State University with a Bachelor Degree in History and Master of Science in Education in 1970. He enjoyed coaching high school football and teaching Social Studies and History for a total of 28 years at Texas high schools including Athens, Cleveland and Mineola, where he retired in 1998. After retirement, Tommy became interested in genealogy and was successful tracing his family tree back to 1694. He enjoyed spending time with his puppy dogs, gardening, bird watching, playing dominoes with friends, and watching the Dallas Cowboys, which fit perfectly with his laidback, easy-going and friendly personality.

Tommy is survived by his brother Larry Stephenson, and cousins Susan Cloniger and Terry Cloniger.

Tommy was preceded in death by his parents, William and Grace.

During his heroic fight against cancer, he was supported by the compassionate care provided by the nurses, doctors and caregivers at MD Anderson (Houston), Country Trails Care Center (Grand Saline), Caring Hearts Hospice (Greenville), and special friend Bobbie Wright.