Stephanie Ann Drains

Stephanie Ann Drains, 75, of Concord, passed away unexpectedly at her home on Friday, August 7, 2026, surrounded by her loving family.

The family will receive friends from 1:30 until 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at Wilkinson Funeral Home. A service celebrating Stephanie's life will follow at 3:00 p.m. in the funeral home chapel.

Stephanie was born November 28, 1950, in Manhattan, New York, to the late Edna Mae Harris and John Lee Williams. She was also preceded in death by her brother, Steven Williams.

Stephanie worked for the New York Board of Education while devoting much of her life to being a homemaker. For Stephanie, caring for her home and family was more than a role. It was at the heart of who she was. She took great pride in creating a home where her children, family, and so many others felt cared for, welcomed, and loved.

Stephanie had an extraordinary capacity to make people feel cared for. Her love was never limited to her own children or even to her own family. Over the years, she helped raise and care for children and relatives, opened her home whenever someone needed support, and became affectionately known as the "neighborhood mom."

Perhaps one of the most meaningful reflections of Stephanie's life can be found in the words repeated by so many after her passing: she made you feel like you had a mom, even if you didn't. She always seemed to have more love to give, and she gave it freely. She was known for giving the best hugs, the kind that made you feel comforted, safe, and genuinely cared for. Whether someone needed encouragement, guidance, a listening ear, or simply a place where they felt they belonged, Stephanie had a way of making room for them.

Above everything else, Stephanie was deeply proud of her children and her family. They were the center of her world. In recent years, becoming a grandmother to Wyatt and Wynter brought her even more joy. The same tenderness and devotion she gave so naturally as a mother carried into being a loving grandmother.

Stephanie also found happiness in the things she could nurture and care for. She loved gardening and tending to her flowers, taking joy in watching them bloom and grow. She had a deep love for animals and a soft heart for them throughout her life. She also enjoyed crocheting and working with her hands, creating with the same patience and care she brought to the people around her.

Stephanie is survived by her husband of 52 years, Norman Lee Drains; daughters, Morgan Predescu-Drains and husband Daniel of Oakboro, and Michelle Drains of Cary; and her beloved grandchildren, Wyatt and Wynter Predescu-Drains.

Those who knew and loved Stephanie will remember far more than the roles she held. They will remember the way she showed up for people. The way she cared. The way she made people feel welcomed, protected, and loved. She was a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, relative, friend, caregiver, and to so many, another mom.

Stephanie's passing came far sooner and more unexpectedly than anyone who loved her could have imagined. But the love she poured into others did not end with her life. It lives on in her daughters and grandchildren, in the family she helped nurture, and in the countless people who were fortunate enough to feel her care.

Much like the flowers she lovingly tended, what Stephanie planted in the lives of others will continue to bloom.