Stephanie Lynn Hampton

Stephanie Lynn Hampton(Mullens), 51, of Mackinaw, IL was joyfully welcomed into the arms of her savior, Jesus Christ, on December 13, 2025 after a long battle with cancer. Stephanie was born on November 3, 1974 in Peoria, IL to Steve and Angie Mullens. In 2006, she married the love of her life, Randy Hampton, who treated her like the queen she was until her last day. Stephanie was preceded in death by her Dad, Steve Mullens and is survived by her husband, Randy Hampton, Mom, Angie Mullens, sister, Toni Mullens, brother, Josh Mullens(Anna), and beautiful nephews including Benjamin, Brady, James, and John. Marrying Randy blessed her with brothers-in-law, Rob Hampton(Lanette) & Tony Hampton, sisters-in-law, Jody Kruse & Gina Smith. and many more nieces and nephews.
Her entire childhood was spent in Hanna City, IL where she formed lifelong friendships in grade school and high school. Steph always had a big and confident personality which she used on the stage, in choirs, and on the softball field. After attending and graduating from Logan Elementary & Farmington High School, she continued her education at Eureka College. Her circle of friends grew for 4 years due to her "Dear Old Pals" and her epic softball teams. Steph graduated from Eureka College in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications. Her witty responses and dynamic stage presence led her to be a radio personality and a fun-loving karaoke host at Memories in downtown Peoria. Soon after she graduated though, she began an adventure in technology that exploded in popularity. Steph would work in the wireless mobile phone industry for the rest of her career, and she was really good at it. In 1996, Steph got her foot in the door and was hired in sales at The Cellular Connections. She worked there until 1998 when she was switched to 360 Communications/Alltel. In 1999 she made a change to Sprint services until 2001 and then the real fun began. She became a Vice President and part owner of a one store Verizon Dealership called The Digital Store. Her enthusiasm when helping friends, family, and random customers was unmatched, and she was always working to find a better deal for them. The Digital Store was very successful and grew to 12 stores across central Illinois. After all of their success for 20 years, they sold the company to BeMobile in 2021, Steph continued with them to develop the BeeHive until she passed away. During all of this time, her network of loyal friends grew exponentially.
Music was a passion of Steph's that began at a young age and God had gifted her a strong voice that needed to be heard. She would develop her craft everywhere and as she developed her love, she also helped to solidify the passion in her siblings as well. She would teach them about projecting their voices and not being afraid to share their gift and it was really a gift that kept giving! In 2009, the Holy Spirit worked in her life and introduced her to an amazing choir director at St. Jude’s Catholic Church. This led her to continue her faith journey and proclaim her faith louder and louder. Her reliance on Jesus was always there, but we really could see it when her suffering started with the diagnosis of uterine cancer in 2009. She would fight the cancer for a year and was in remission for about 10 years, but then it reared its ugly head again. Since the recurrence in 2020, Steph has been fighting the cancer with Jesus holding her hand every step of the way. She always expressed her gratitude in the tools he gave her to fight and relied on her faith to suffer in a redemptive way-offering up her suffering for others who were also in pain. Steph's walk with Jesus was beautiful, and we have a great hope for our eternal lives that will be spent with her in Heaven.
Not to be overlooked or forgotten was the love story that was Steph and Randy's. From the moment he biked into her life, others could see they were meant to be. Both with their complimenting personalities, Steph and Randy would build a loud life together that included their love of their pugs and each other. Steph enjoyed having a husband who, similar to her Dad and Mom, did everything he could to make her happy. He built her a house, a deck with a pool, barbequed for hours, raised pugs, took trips and allowed her to go on adventures to spend time with friends and family. In meeting Randy, again her network of loyal friends and family grew.
Steph's friends and family were everything to her and she made them always feel special. The potential that she saw in people wasn't always what they saw in themselves. She would invest in them and care about them and sometimes offer them the tough love needed to help them grow into the people they were meant to be. When Steph was at her lowest points these last few years, the loyalty of all of her relationships shined through. She was so grateful for the prayers, thoughts, and simple gestures made that reminded her how much she was loved.
We will come together at St. Jude’s Catholic Church, 10811 Knoxville Ave, Peoria, IL 61615 for a Visitation on Sunday, December 21, 2025 from 4pm-8pm. On Monday, December 22, 2025, there will be an additional short visitation starting at 10am followed by a Mass service at 11am. A luncheon will follow the Mass service and then at 3pm we will take Steph to her final resting place at Cottonwood Cemetery, 12721 W Cottonwood Rd, Hanna City, IL 61536.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Greater Peoria Honor Flight or St. Jude’s Catholic School.
Friends and family are encouraged to log onto www.wrightandsalmon.com to sign the online guestbook, submit photos and share Steph's memorial page via social media.
Funeral arrangements have been made under the direction and care of Wright & Salmon Mortuary.