Stephanie Lipe (Light) Hightower , 38, of Avilla, Ark ansas passed away Saturday, March 22, 2014.

She graduated from J.A. Fair High School in 1993 and was formerly employed for more than a decade at Arkansas Graphics in Little Rock.

She was survived by her three children, Devin Light, Darren Light and Steven Light; her husband, Jess Hightower ; her parents, Bruce and Rosaline (Otts) Lipe; Siblings Derek (Stephanie) Lipe, Jennifer (Mark) Cruz and Adrienne Lipe, all of Avilla; Grandmother, Alene Otts, of Bigelow; As well as many aunts and uncles, numerous cousins and several nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be at Dial and Dudley Funeral Home in Bryant from 6-8 p.m. Friday, March 28. Funeral service will be 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29 at Bigelow Baptist Church, with burial to follow.

Stephanie was a woman unlike any other. If you ever met her, you were sure to remember her. Though she struggled with feeling good about herself, you would never know it because she would always light up a room the moment she entered. Every. Single. Time.

Stephanie tried to be a good wife and a caring mother. She took care of her kids in ways which they never even knew. She would often make them stacks of waffles for breakfast, and she would never hesitate to dish out seconds or even thirds because little did her boys know that her waffles were packed full of healthy little tidbits creating what she called "a big ole health biscuit." But aside from her wholesome waffles, her youngest boy, Steven, most enjoyed the peanut butter pancakes she would make, complete with chocolate chips and smiley faces melted right in. They were sure to make any kid smile , but most importantly to her, her own .

However, Stephanie's culinary creations didn't all come off without a hitch. It was an ongoing joke amongst her boys that they always knew dinner was cooking when the smoke alarm starting screaming. Of course, it wasn't due to her burning dinner, but rather her entirely too sensitive smoke alarm, which almost daily ended up unplugged and sitting on the kitchen counter by the time dinner was ready.

Nonetheless, she always jumped at the opportunity to take dinner outside. She loved being surrounded by her entire family and often gathered them together around a grill packed with hamburgers and hotdogs. And if it happened to be any one of her boys' birthdays, you can bet she had a cake and ice cream at the ready , and everyone was always invited to partake . And for her dad's birthday, she'd always show up with the biggest bag of Reese's that she could find, which he would tuck away in the freezer only to secretly hand out to the grandkids when his own children weren't looking.

But her dad wasn't the only one that enjoyed Reese's by the bagful. Though Stephanie suffered from diabetes, it never stopped her from unapologetically enjoying her sweet treats. In fact, she hated vegetables and even fruits, in any form. She'd turn down a fruit pie, but gladly take a slice of pecan pie. She laughed when the good folks at Arkansas Graphics sent her a candy bouquet as a get well soon gesture. She found humor in the fact that they sent candy to a diabetic, but she didn't care, she was still appreciative and enjoyed every piece.

At ever y given chance, she would show she cared, and even if it was in the smallest of ways, those little things were remembered by all. Every time she saw her mother, without hesitation, she would hug her and tell her that she loved her. Every phone conversation with her mom ended with her again telling her mom she loved her.

When her brother, Derek, was laid up in a hospital bed, she not only c ame to visit, but brought along some much appreciated magazines, word searches and crossword books to help keep him busy and his mind preoccupied with something other tha n the confines of the hospital. Years later when Dere k got married, Stephanie went around and gathered cash from her fellow employees at Arkansas Graphics and hung it all from a small Norfolk Island Pine to create a "money tree" for the newlyweds.

When her younger sister, Jennifer, was able to celebrate her first Mother's Day after struggling with years of infertility, Stephanie sent her a Mother's Day card stating, "Of all the women I know, nobody deserves to be a mother more than you."

Although they weren't always so serious, Stephanie was well known for her choice of words. She could keep up with the rest of them with her quick and witty comebacks. She was always ready for a word battle and, more times than not, she would win.

Stephanie's word battles weren't just limited to verbal versions either. Several years ago she worked with Derek doing landscaping, but when they would meet up to work for the day and the weather was uncooperative, they would instead spend the day playing Scrabble. Of course she wasn't quite so witty with wooden letter tiles. She only won about half the time, but still undoubtedly held the title for the queen of comebacks.

And her way with words was apparent from a very young age. Her dad recalls the time when they first bought their property which contained a wet weather creek – one whic h only flows during wet weather - but Stephanie quickly changed the name to a weather dry creek . A name that still sticks to this day.

When Derek got married to a woman whose name also happened to be Stephanie, his sister's way with words surfaced once again. While Stephanie took the title of "Stephanie #1," she handed the title of "Stephanie #2" over to her sister-in-law, explaining that although Stephanie #2 was actually older, she was #2 because Stephanie #1 was there first.

Stephanie loved her parent's property and enjoyed living there later as an adult. She could often be found outside during nice weather caring for her yard, whether it was raking up the leaves or tending to her herb garden. Yet even as meticulous as she was about yard maintenance, you'd never catch her on a riding lawn mower after the incident where the one she was using caught on fire. She only used a push mower after that and you could bet that if there was a rock in yard she was going to hit it.

In early spring the bright yellow blooms of her forsythia glowed and the pink blooms of her beloved almond trees were enjoyed by all.

She loved her plants and tried to share that love with others in whatever way she could. One year she had a competition with her youngest niece, Charley. Stephanie had a small garden plot at her house and Charley had one at hers. They had a contest to see who could grow the most and the biggest and best plants in their gardens. Charley won.

Stephanie was unique in all that she did and even when she wasn't trying and only just being herself, she still managed to make the most magnificent of memories for not only herself but all of those around her. On her last birthday sh e had a very simple, albeit unique, request. She wanted her brother to make a bonfire and dance with her in the rain. He accepted the challenge and while she was busy getting dressed for the occasion, he somehow managed to start a fire while the rain was coming down. And on what neither of them knew at the time would be her last birthday, the two of them danced beside the bonfire in the rain. Complete with rain-soaked mascara running down her face and without even trying, she created a magical memory that her brother will now cherish.

When her youngest sister, Adrienne, was just a kid she always looked up to Stephanie and attempted to imitate her, even talking about going out on dates when she was just two-years-old. Of course, there was a 13 year difference between the two and Adrienne didn't actually go on any dates until much later, but she nonetheless enjoyed pretending that she was. Stephanie would jump at the opportunity to dress Adrienne up in whatever way she happened to think of at that particular moment, which rarely included the typically girly things but rather props like camo face paint, sunglasses and tacky 80s shirts.

As her oldest son, Devin, pointed out, e ven when she was sick, she still tried to make others smile. Of course, she never really had to try very hard, because more times than not, wherever Stephanie would go, smiles were sure to follow. That's just the kind of girl that she was.