Stephen Lane Colson Sr.

1946 - 2018

(March 31, 1946 - July 3, 2018)

Stephen Lane Colson Sr. passed away on July 3, 2018 at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. He was born March 31, 1946 in Macon, GA, and is predeceased by his father and mother, Maurice Elwood Colson and Mary Ivey House. He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Audrey Hamel Colson, his son, Stephen Lane Colson Jr. and his wife Crystal of Savannah, his daughter Stephanie Lauren Colson of Los Angeles, and his grandson, Stephen "Lane" Colson, III. He is also survived by his sister Patricia Douthit of Canton, GA and half-sister Marina Kakouras of Spartanburg, SC and their families. Stephen was a graduate of Armstrong College (of the University System of Georgia) where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management and Economics. He served as an Infantry officer in the United States Army from 1968 until 1974. Following Infantry Officer Candidate School, he received Airborne and Special Forces training and served as a Special Forces officer in Guam. Promoted to Captain, he was assigned to Vietnam where he earned two awards of the Bronze Star Medal. Following Vietnam, he was awarded a Regular Army Commission and graduated with honors from his Officer Advanced Course where he also received his Master of Business Administration. At the age of 22, Stephen launched his professional career in the movie industry as a General Manager and Vice President with Weis Theaters. He continued his career with General Cinema Theaters as their Vice President of Southwest Operations in Chestnut Hill, MA. In 1992, Stephen became President and Chief Operating Officer at Litchfield Theatres in Pawley's Island, SC. After selling the company, Stephen moved his family to Birmingham, AL where he served as Chief Operating Officer with Cobb Theatres for two years. During this time, he was granted the honor of participating in the Olympic Torch Relay through Birmingham as part of its route to Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic Games. Stephen founded his own theater company, AmStar Entertainment, LLC, where he developed seven modern stadium theatre locations with 96 screens located in six states. AmStar received multiple recognitions for construction, operations and customer service. After selling AmStar, Stephen continued to work as an industry consultant and served on multiple Boards within the theater industry. Throughout his life, he believed in the magic of going to the movies. He was a member of the Poinsettia Men's Club in Birmingham. Stephen enjoyed spending time with friends and family, especially relaxing and entertaining at he and Audrey's beach property in Litchfield, SC. He was a devoted husband to his wife, Audrey, and a wonderful father to his children, Stephanie and Stephen, who loved him immensely. He was a respected leader and a generous, loving friend to many and will be greatly missed. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 21st, 2018 at Liberty Park Baptist Church, 12001 Liberty Parkway, Vestavia Hills, AL 35242. Visitation will be from 1pm to 2pm and the service from 2pm to 3pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to Disabled American Veterans, www.dav.org or the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, cancercenter.uab.edu.