Connie Lue (Markle) Stein

Connie Lue Markle Stein passed away on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, after a period of declining health.

She was born November 17, 1931, in Port Arthur, TX, the daughter of Winnie Davis Greer and Walter Horace Markle. Connie grew up in Port Arthur but moved around the country with her family, living in San Augustine, TX, Lawton, OK, Palm Springs, CA, and Hershey, PA, during WWII. She attended the third and eighth grades in San Augustine when her family lived with her grandparents during this time.  At the end of the war, the family returned to Port Neches where she graduated from Port Neches High School in 1949.  Connie attended North Texas State College in Denton, TX, as a pre-med major, from 1949 to 1951. 

She married Robert Neil Stein of Galveston, TX, in 1951.  They were divorced in 1978.  They lived in various cities across the South, including Denton, New Orleans, Miami, Montgomery, Tampa, and Atlanta, before the family settled in Lakeland, FL, in 1965 where she lived for 31 years. From 1978 until 1996, Connie worked in sales and management of several ladies’ specialty dress and gift shops in Lakeland, including Joyce Corner, Country Girl, and A Special Touch.

Connie was an active member of All Saints Episcopal Church in Lakeland where she served on the Vestry, president of the E.C.W., and taught elementary Sunday school; past officer of Palm Circle and Lakeland Garden Club and served on the Beautification Board of the City of Lakeland.  She went back to college after raising four children and graduated from Florida Southern College in 1985 with a B.S. degree in Marketing Management. 

Connie retired to San Augustine, TX, in 1996.  She was a longtime member of Christ Church Episcopal, where she served on the Altar Guild; a board member of San Augustine Public Library for 25 years; a longtime member of Sew Whats Quilting Guild; and a past member of San Augustine Garden Club.

Connie was predeceased by her parents and is survived by the following: daughter, Constance Ruth Stein Upshaw (Charlie) of Raleigh, NC; son, Robert Neil Stein, Jr. (Toni) of Lakeland, FL; daughters, Mary Katherine Stein Hicks, of Axtell, TX, and Carol Jane Stein Locarro (David Huff Powers), of Carbondale, CO; grandchildren: Ike Austin Stein (LuJean), of Bartow, FL; Emily Lane Stein (Bradley Taylor) of Las Vegas, NV; Clayton Vance Hicks (Sara), of San Antonio, TX; Major Charles Andrew Upshaw (Eugenia), US Army, Stuttgart, Germany and Carrie Lynn Hicks, of Axtell, TX; five great-grandchildren; twin sister, Bettie Sue Markle Carroll of San Augustine, TX; brother, Walter Greer Markle (Donna) of Ashland, OR; and many beloved nieces, nephews and cousins. 

A Memorial service and Celebration of her life is being planned for 11:00 a.m. Friday, May 20, 2022, at Christ Church Episcopal, San Augustine, Texas, with a reception to follow at the Crocket Hall. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Connie’s memory to Christ Church Episcopal, P.O. Box 85, San Augustine, TX, 75972; San Augustine Public Library Memorial Fund, 413 East Columbia Street, San Augustine, TX, 75972; or the charity of your choice.

Visit www.WymanRobertsFuneralHome.com for memories and condolences.

Services are under the direction of Wyman Roberts Funeral Home in San Augustine, TX.

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