Connie Elaine Stokes

Connie Elaine Stokes, lovingly known in the later years of her life as GranGran, passed peacefully in her home surrounded by family on August 16, 2026. She was 73.

Connie was born September 26, 1952, in Ocala, Florida, and spent her earliest years there before moving to Texas. She was raised in Hurst by her mother, Betty Jean “Kitty” Wilkerson, and the man Connie knew and loved as her father, Alan Wilkerson. She graduated from L. D. Bell High School with the Class of 1971.

As a proud L. D. Bell Raiderette, Connie developed an early love for Friday night lights that would follow her through generations. Years later, she and her daughter enjoyed cheering on the Wildcats during the time they lived in Temple. Eventually Grangran proudly cheered from the stands as her grandchildren performed beneath those same Friday night lights as members of the Burleson High School marching band.

Connie began her professional life by following one of her great passions: decorating. During the heyday of the shopping mall, she created department-store displays and developed an extraordinary eye for color, balance, and the little details that could make a space come alive.

In her 30s, Connie changed directions and began learning accounting and management alongside her father. She went on to build a long and accomplished career with the State of Texas, serving as Asset manager for the Texas Workforce Commission. From computers and office supplies to equipment and countless logistical details, Connie helped ensure that employees throughout the state had what they needed to do their work. Upon her retirement, her hard work and dedication were honored with a Texas flag that had flown over the State Capitol in her honor—an achievement of which she was deeply proud.

After her daughter was born blind, Connie became a fierce advocate for blind children. When educators placed limits on what her daughter could or would accomplish, Connie refused to accept that and went looking for better answers. She attended conferences, sought out resources and opportunities, and learned everything she could. Then, true to Connie’s nature, she turned around and shared what she had learned with others.

She served on panels, supported other parents, offered her time and knowledge freely, and helped provide transportation so blind young people scattered across Texas could attend camps and programs that opened doors for them.

That generosity was simply who Connie was.

Friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family remember her as kind, accommodating, generous with her time, and always willing to help. Her home was a place where people felt welcome. She threw legendary slumber parties, made birthdays and holidays feel like true celebrations, and had a gift for making people feel that they mattered. As one neighbor remembered after her passing, “She loved all of us and our kids as if they were her own.”

Connie made her home and family the center of her life. She cared faithfully for her mother and father as they grew older and later became a devoted full-time caregiver for her husband, Bruce, during his illness. Whether someone needed practical help, encouragement, a celebration, a ride, a meal, or simply someone who would show up, Connie showed up. She believed that if something needed to be done, you found a way to do it.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 30 years, Bruce Stokes; her parents, Betty Jean “Kitty” Wilkerson and Alan Wilkerson; and her sister, Annie Sappington, with whom Connie was blessed to reconnect later in life and share a beautiful relationship.

Connie is survived by her daughter, Shelly Smith; her stepson, Brian Stokes, and his wife, Michelle; her brother, Wayne Wilkerson; her four cherished grandchildren, Faith, Percy, Ryan, and Paige; her great-grandchildren, Choice and Colin; and beloved nephews, cousins, extended family, friends, and neighbors.

Many of those who loved her simply knew her as GranGran, a name that came to represent far more than a family title.

In the later years of her life, Connie’s faith in Jesus Christ grew especially deep. Through reading the Bible, daily prayer, and what she experienced as a very real friendship with Jesus, she found comfort, strength, and peace. That faith sustained her through loss and became central to the way she approached the final chapter of her life. Her family experienced her peaceful passing as a profound testament to God’s provision, answered prayer, and the faith that had grown so precious to her.

And through everything, Connie decorated.

Then she redecorated.

Then, quite possibly, she decided it all needed “just a little pop of color.”

She had an extraordinary eye for making a room, a home, or a celebration feel special.

Looking back, those who loved her may realize that Connie herself was often the pop of color.

A casual celebration of Connie’s life will be held Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the home of her daughter, Shelly, 312 Clayton Rd., Burleson, Texas.

Friends and family are invited to come as they are, share stories, laugh, remember, and celebrate a woman who would want absolutely nothing about the occasion to be somber. Additional details will be shared as the date approaches.