Georgie Carlene (Baldridge) Stephens, age 76, of Cassville, Missouri, passed away on Saturday, June 27, 2020, at Mercy Hospital in Rogers, Arkansas. Carlene, daughter of Carl and Juanita (Wilson) Baldridge, was born on September 17, 1943, in Shell Knob.  She attended first grade in Elkhart, Kansas, and Boise City, Oklahoma, and then attended schools in Texas where she graduated from Midlothian High School in 1961.  During her school years she admittedly was more interested in playing basketball than academics.  Upon graduating high school she attended the University of Texas for one year.

Carlene had her first job at the age of thirteen washing dishes in a café in Midlothian, Texas.  Over the years she worked as a waitress, hospital receptionist, shoe factory operator, nurses' aid, school secretary, checker at a grocery store, and a café owner.

She married Joe Dale Stephens on July 17, 1964, at the home of Reverend Jean and Wilma Latshaw in Purdy.  After marrying Joe, they continued operating the café before buying a farm where they milked cows and operated a small sawmill.  In the 1980s she and Joe owned and operated a balloon and gift shop.

Carlene began her railroad career with Frisco Railroad in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1976 and retired in 2006 from the Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad in Fort Worth, Texas, after thirty years of service.  During her time with the railroad she was transferred to a different places including Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1986, and Fort Worth, Texas, in 1993, but in spite of all their relocations, she and Joe always considered Missouri their home.

Survivors include her husband Joe Stephens, of Cassville; one brother, Howard Baldridge and his wife Sandy, Chetopa, Kansas; three brothers-in-law, Bill Stephens, of Cassville, and Jackie Stephens and Ronnie Stephens and his wife Becky, all of Washburn; one sister-in-law, Coleen Bowman, of Exeter; five nephews, Brent Baldridge, Bryan Reynolds, David Stephens, Jason Isbell, and Bo Stephens; and five nieces, Toni Gower, Briana Stephens, Courtney Bowman, Shelby Icenhower, and Bailey Sims.

In addition to her parents, Carlene was preceded in death by an infant brother and sister, Paul and Pauline Baldridge; one brother, Edward Baldridge; her step-father, E.F. "Red" King; two brothers-in-law, Carl Gene Stephens and Paul Dean Stephens; three sisters- in-laws, Joan Stephens, Anita Stephens, and Winnie Searl; and her mother and father-in-law, Ivon and Thelma "Babe" Stephens.

Funeral services will be held 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1, 2020, at White Funeral Home and Crematory, Cassville, with Pastor Rex Mooneyham officiating; burial to follow at Washburn Prairie Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30 ^th at the funeral home.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Southwest School Backpack Program and entrusted to the White Funeral Home and Crematory, P.O. 890 Cassville, MO 65625.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the White Funeral Home and Crematory, Cassville, Missouri.