Stephanie Hall Bottom

1966 - 2024

Corpus Christi - Stephanie Hall Bottom left this world peacefully on August 19, 2024 after courageously and gracefully fighting metastatic breast cancer for over eight years. She was born July 16, 1966 in Edinburg, Texas to Edmon Grant "Sandy" Hall and Helen Close Hall. Stephanie recalled fondly a childhood full of fishing with her father, catching lizards with her siblings, and of decorating the Christmas tree with her mother. Inspired by her mother's love of dance, Stephanie became an active member of the ballet community at an early age. She was known to everyone as a girl with a great love of both dance and music, and she extended that joy for the arts into much of her later life. Her passion for dance kindled a great devotion to education, for which Stephanie would become known and greatly appreciated in her adulthood.



Much younger than her siblings, Stephanie became an aunt when she was in early high school, and she often emphasized the great love she felt for her nieces and nephews. She attributed her desire to become an educator to the love she felt for them. After graduating from high school in Edinburg, Stephanie attended Texas Christian University to pursue a bachelor's degree in special education. While there, Stephanie danced on the TCU dance team and pledged the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Stephanie recollected her time at university as one of self-discovery and growth. After graduating, Stephanie moved back to Edinburg and became a special education teacher in the McAllen independent school district. She was known for her unending patience, kindly devotion, and calm demeanor in the classroom.



In her early adulthood, Stephanie began dating her would-be husband, E. Brent Bottom. Brent had also attended Texas Christian University, where he pledged the Sigma Chi fraternity. While the two had not frequently socialized, their parents were family friends and business associates, and Stephanie often told her children that she had admired him from afar for many years before they formally began dating. She remembered feeling giddy when he called her to ask her to the movies, and her love and excitement for him never faded during 31 years of marriage. The two fell deeply in love and Brent proposed at South Padre Island, a place that would become a family-favorite spot for relaxation and joy over the years. Stephanie and Brent were married on April 24, 1993 at St. Andrew's by the Sea Episcopal Church in Port Isabel, Texas.



After marrying, the couple moved to McAllen, Texas to be close to family. Stephanie continued her work as a special education teacher until the birth of her first child. Stephanie gave birth to and raised three children: Avery Bottom, Brendon (Maddie) Bottom, and Amille (Lorenzo) Dubrocq.



In 2000, Stephanie, Brent, and their children moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, where they enrolled their three children in Incarnate Word Academy and enjoyed living down the road from Stephanie's sister and her family. The family's move to Corpus Christi served as the catalyst for much of Stephanie's charitable endeavors and the rest of her career as an educator.



Throughout her 24 years of living in Corpus Christi, Stephanie became a pillar of the community, serving on the boards of the Texas State Aquarium, Driscoll Children's Hospital, Catholic Charities, and Incarnate Word Academy. Stephanie was compassionately dedicated to charity work and always instilled in her children the value of caring for those in need; her family fondly recalls her hands-on work with the Mother Teresa Shelter and Catholic Charities, particularly around the holidays. Throughout all of her work, Stephanie exemplified empathy, grace, kindness, and strength; she always provided a listening ear and a warm hug to those in need.



After a brief pause in her teaching career to care full-time for her children, Stephanie's work as an educator continued at Incarnate Word Academy after her youngest daughter entered the fourth grade. At IWA, she impacted young lives as the fourth and fifth grade English and Language Arts teacher. Later in her career, she began working in the Elementary Level library, where she was known for her warm smiles, engaging read-alouds, and wonderful book recommendations. After working in the library for a few years, Stephanie was asked to become the Incarnate Word Academy Elementary Level Principal - a position she thoroughly loved and embraced. Throughout her time as principal, Stephanie encouraged and supported her faculty and staff, promoted the school's faith-based mission and, most importantly, created a safe and kind learning environment for all. During her long association with IWA, Stephanie met one of her greatest friends, the now-President of IWA, Sammie Grunwald, whom she would like to thank for her everlasting support, loving friendship, and heartwarming laughter.



Stephanie's greatest strength in life was her ability to make others feel valued and loved. From slipping notes of encouragement into her children's lunchboxes to filling people's homes with delicious freshly-baked goods, she had an incredible propensity to make people feel seen, heard, remembered, and loved. To be cared for by her was a true gift, and her affectionate and nurturing presence will never be replicated or forgotten.



Stephanie is preceded in death by her parents and her father-in-law. She is survived by her husband, mother-in-law, three siblings, Grant (Patsy) Hall, Geoff (Amy) Hall, and Kimberley (Bernard) Seger, her three children, her son-in-law, her daughter-in-law, and her numerous nieces and nephews. She will always be remembered for treating everyone with boundless kindness, for her enveloping hugs, and for the warmth of her compassion, empathy, and cheer. Her love of cooking, baking, and celebrating all of life's moments - the big and the small - will be carried on by her children. Her endless grace, immeasurable courage, and enduring strength will be remembered by all who knew her.



The family would like to thank the dedicated professionals of MD Anderson Cancer Center for their tremendous support and excellent care over the years.



A private memorial service for family will follow, with a celebration of life to be announced.