Mrs. Stephens was the wife of William E. Stephens, who became chair of the physics department at the University of Pennsylvania in 1963 and dean of its College of Arts and Sciences in 1969, a Penn spokeswoman said.
Born in Schenectady, N.Y., Mrs. Stephens grew up in St. Louis, graduated from an art school there, and ran a gift shop at the Jefferson Hotel there before marrying in 1943.
Though she did not have gallery exhibits, "she had many shows with her art groups," her son said.
"She was involved in all sorts of arts," he said, "from silversmithing to weaving to painting to pottery."
As an artist, he said, "she turned our kitchen stove into a silversmith shop," even putting a bellows onto it to help produce her art.
"To a large extent, I can draw and visualize things" because of her work, he said, "and that is an important component of my work as a physicist."
After moving with her husband to Penn Wynne in 1947, their son said, Mrs. Stephens was a member of the public library that served that community and of its civic association.
From 1953, she was a member of the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society in Ardmore.
Besides her son, Mrs. Stephens is survived by a grandson, Benjamin, and granddaughters Robin and Elizabeth. Her husband died in 1980. Their son William M. died in 1973.
An organ concert in her memory was set for 4 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at Beaumont, 601 N. Ithan Ave., Bryn Mawr, followed by a reception there.
Contact staff writer Walter F. Naedele at 215-854-5607 or wnaedele@phillynews.com.
