Dougherty Probate Court Judge Nancy Stephenson dies following coronavirus diagnosis
File Photo
From staff reports
ALBANY — Dougherty County Probate Judge Nancy Stephenson, 63, of Albany died Wednesday at her home in Albany from cardiac issues complicated by COVID-19.
Stephenson recently tested positive for the virus and succumbed to complications associated with it on Wednesday. Private family graveside services are planned. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date at Albany First United Methodist Church.
Stephenson’s husband, Dougherty County State Court Judge John Stephenson, has also tested positive for the virus and is self-quarantined at home, Holder said.
A native of Tifton, Nancy Stephenson was the fifth of six children of Dr. William T. Smith and Cecilia Travis Smith. She was born on April 28, 1956, attending public schools in Tift County. She attended the University of Georgia and the University of Georgia School of Law and was very proud to be a “Double Dawg.” Upon receiving her juris doctor degree in 1981, she briefly worked for a legal publishing company in Atlanta before moving to Albany, where two of her brothers had established medical practices.
Judge Stephenson started her legal career in Albany as a staff attorney for Georgia Legal Services before moving to private practice with John Salter and Walter Kelley. She later became the first full-time female assistant district attorney for the Dougherty Judicial Circuit. In 1992, she discovered her true calling in life, running for and being elected Probate judge of Dougherty County, a position she has held without opposition for 27 years.
Judge Stephenson was a member of Albany First United Methodist Church and a regular member of the New Horizons Sunday School Class. She was a member of Mended Hearts and The Albany Town Committee of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. She served on numerous local civic boards over the past 30 years.
Survivors include her husband of 33 years, Judge John M. Stephenson; two sons, John Mark Stephenson Jr. of Portland, Ore., and William Harry Stephenson of New York City; her siblings, Dr. Bruce Alexander Smith of Lake Oconee, Ga., Dr. Livingston Travis Smith of Lutz, Fla., Dr. Christopher Campbell Smith of Albany, and Dr. Cecilia McKay of Portland, Ore.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to a favorite charity, The Maggie Joe Hogg Alzheimer Care Center, or to Albany First United Methodist Church. Because Judge John Stephenson also tested positive for COVID-19, he will not be able to receive visitors at this time. Kimbrell-Stern Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Stephenson died only three days after Dougherty County Superior Court Judge Victoria Darrisaw issued an order closing the county’s courthouse. Albany has been identified as one of the nation’s “hot spots” for the virus.
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