Stephanie Wood Redwine

Stephanie Wood Redwine, age 74, passed away surrounded by family on Sunday, August 20, 2023, at Blount Memorial Hospital in Maryville, Tennessee.

Stephanie was born to James Ivan Wood and Vivan Kizer Wood in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she grew up, graduating from Bearden High School in 1967 and the University of Tennessee in 1971. She was a Christian and a lifelong Methodist.

After marrying, she and her husband Robert moved to Marshall, Texas in 1973 for four years with Alcoa Inc. While in Texas, she had her first child, a son named Jason. He was born in Longview, Texas at Good Shepherd Hospital. While in Texas the couple was able to travel to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico with Stephanie’s parents, as well as New Orleans, Louisiana.

In 1977 Robert was transferred back to the local Alcoa Inc plant. They purchased a house in Alcoa where they lived from 1977 until 1989. Stephanie had her second child, another son. Ryan was born at Fort Sanders Regional Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee. Because of a heavy snowfall the night before, Robert barely got Stephanie to the hospital before Ryan was born.

Transferring back to Alcoa, Tennessee proved to be very fortunate. It allowed Stephanie’s mother to spend almost three years with her only grandchildren. Stephanie’s mother was diagnosed with cancer in 1980 and passed away the same year. Stephanie cherished those years back in Tennessee.

Stephanie worked in the health room at Sam Houston Elementary which gave her the ability to take her sons to and from school. Then Stephanie worked in a home health business where she did insurance billing. The owner of the business allowed Stephanie to work her hours such that she could continue to provide school transportation for both boys.

In 1985, Stephanie travelled to Europe to join Robert who was finishing a business trip to Germany. Robert and another Alcoan on the business trip flew their wives to Frankfort, Germany for a very nice vacation. The couples were able to visit Cologne, Germany where they toured the large cathedral which was the only building left standing in Cologne after World War II. They took the train from Germany into France and on into Paris. Here they saw the main tourist highlights such as the Arch of Triumph, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Louve.

From Paris they took the train to the coast and a hovercraft across the English Channel into England. In London, they were able to see the Tower Bridge, Big Ben and Parliament, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and Buckingham Palace.

In 1989, the family moved to a family home in the country. The house was built in 1842 and was located in Blount County. Here Stephanie spent a huge amount of time working outdoors to plant trees, shrubbery, and flowers. She also spent hours reading and planning both her garden and the landscaping.

Stephanie was a very kind and big-hearted person. Nowhere was this more evident than in her love for animals. Through the years she always had at least one dog and multiple cats. Almost all her pets were rescued. Living in the country, stray animals were continually showing up around the house. Stephanie adopted two different litters of cats. One litter was born in the house because Stephanie wanted them to have a good home.

At one point Stephanie decided that the local raccoon population needed to be fed. Countless bags of cat food went for this purpose along with feeding the occasional possum.

Having spent part of their honeymoon in 1972 on Sanibel Island on the Gulf coast. Stephanie fell in love with the ocean and the beaches and would go every chance she got. However, caring for so many pets limited the number of lengthy vacations that she got to enjoy.

Because of some medical procedures that her husband Robert had in Jacksonville, Florida, Stephanie got to have a day or two every year on the Atlantic Ocean side of Florida. When the couple enjoyed their 50th wedding anniversary in 2022, their plans to go back to Sanibel Island were canceled because of Hurricane Ian’s destruction.

The couple also made a trip to New London, Connecticut to visit Robert’s first cousin Linda and her family. The visit included a visit to the Nautilus, Plymouth Rock, Newport, Rhode Island, and a beautiful aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut.

Stephanie’s father passed away in 2009 at the age of 98. Because of poor health, he spent the last few years of his life living with Stephanie and her husband at the family’s home. Stephanie dedicated her time during those years to taking exceptional care of her father. At the same time every day, Stephanie would sit in her dad’s room and watch re-runs of Andy Griffiths.

Stephanie was a quiet, unassuming person who was full of love and life and will be dearly missed by her family and friends. She would do anything for a friend or a relative. She did these things with no expectations of a return favor. Her friends will tell you that Stephanie never tried to dominate a conversation and was a very good listener.

Stephanie was preceded in death by her father, James Ivan Wood, her mother, Vivian Kizer Wood, her brother James Kizer Wood, her sister-in-law, Juanita Simpson Redwine, and a first cousin, Judy Kiser Salvaggio.

She is survived by her husband of 51 years, Robert Pickens Redwine, son, Jason Patrick Redwine (Sonya), son, Ryan Matthew Redwine, granddaughter, Kaitlyn Elizabeth Redwine, brother-in-law, John Smith Redwine, brother-in-law, Alfred Louis Redwine (Jeanne), Stephanie’s first cousins Jonnie Sue Brown, Barbara Martin, Linda Kocur Walker (Butch Hofferbert), Frank Albert Kocur II (Anne), John Hamilton Kiser (Joyce), and Robert’s first cousins, Linda Thomas Helvig (Paul), Nancy Thomas Warren (Tony), Steven Robert Pickens, and Fred Parker Pickens. Her best friend from high school and through the years was Judy Tyson.

The family will receive friends from 5-7:00 pm on Thursday, September 7, 2023 at McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home in Maryville, Tennessee. A Celebration of Stephanie’s Life will be held at 7:00 pm in the same location.

The family requests that instead of flowers, memorials be made to the Blount County Animal Shelter or the Blount Memorial Foundation.

The family also expresses their appreciation to the nursing staffs and physicians at UTMC and Blount Memorial Hospital for their care while Stephanie was in the two hospitals. The family also expresses their deep appreciation for the caring attitude of the sitters while at Blount Memorial Hospital.