Alma Rita Stevenson

Alma Rita Stevenson was born on June 3rd, 1939 in Cleveland County, Arkansas. She was called home on December 11, 2025 in Conway, Arkansas. She was preceded in death by her parents, Henry Allen Bowlin, Eula Henrietta Elizabeth (Lunsford) Bowlin, and husband Ray D. Stevenson, her siblings, Poli, Harold, Francis, and Don, and one great-great grandchild, Nino Ridolfi.

Born and raised in the Rose Hill area of Cleveland County, her childhood was filled with gardening, raising livestock and, of course, picking cotton.

New Hope Missionary Baptist Church was home to the Bowlin family.

She was a devoted wife to Ray for 45 years and a loving mother to her three children; Greg, Cindy, and Sam. She met her husband in Houston, Texas. They were married on December 29th, 1956. They then lived in Star City, Arkansas and Marion, Arkansas. While in Marion she was a member of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, where she taught children’s Sunday school class. When her husband retired they moved to Mountain View, Arkansas. While there, she was a member of Flatwoods Missionary Baptist Church. After she retired, she moved to Conway, Arkansas and later became a member of Sunny Gap Baptist Church.

She always had chocolate chip cookies ready for her grandkids and hosted many holiday gatherings and meals in her home for her extended family.

She was a licensed cosmetologist for over 40 years. She owned her own salon, “Rita’s Beauty Salon”, in Mountain View, Arkansas, for approximately two decades, with most of those years having her daughter, Cindy, work alongside her. She thoroughly enjoyed her career and treated her clients like gold.

Her profound faith in Jesus Christ served as a steadfast foundation for her family, guiding them with grace and teaching them the true meaning of unconditional love. Though she will be deeply missed, her legacy of devotion ensures she will be always loved and remembered in every heart she touched.

She is survived by her sister Ruby Brown (Tom), her three children: Gregory Stevenson, Sr. (Sandra); Cynthia Staten (Durward); Samuel Stevenson (Anita), nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

She loved her family deeply and lived for her Savior, Christ Jesus. She wanted all of her family to spend eternity in Heaven.

Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Thursday, December 18, 2025, at Buie & Cole Funeral Home in Rison. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow in New Hope Cemetery in Rison.