Stevie was raised on a ranch in the Pasadena hills with her parents, two sisters, and brother. She had wonderful stories about the animals – Christine the burro, Quack 1 and Quack 2, and her favorite pet, Flower, the skunk. She ran wild in the hills plucking fruit including avocados and pomegranates from the trees and trying not to get caught playing in the ravine.
She went to college in Boulder, Colorado because her dad said he would pay for her to go out of state to get her away from a boyfriend he disapproved of. She loved college, but she came back for the summer, got a job at AllState, and she said she found her place. She would work in insurance the rest of her career, including getting a surplus Lines International Brokerage license, making her one of the few people in Washington state to acquire this license.
She met future husband, Thomas “Scotty” Roberton, in 1977. They married in 1978. They both had daughters from previous marriages – Alissa from hers, Christinia from his – and they made their first home briefly in Osborne, Idaho where they had a daughter together, Janette. They then moved to Spokane for a couple of years, and finally made their way to the Renton area to settle and raise their family.
Stevie found a rewarding position with an insurance broker in Seattle that she loved. In an effort to keep Scotty from having to travel so much for work, they started a residential bricklaying company; Stevie was the president and Scotty was the bricklayer.
Both of them were gregarious and loved to meet and talk to people. They joined Bet Chaverim in 1989 and were very involved in the sisterhood and board. They made lifelong friendships there.
Sadly, Scotty passed away far too young in 1995. Stevie, now with only one daughter left in the home, moved to Maple Valley and changed jobs to a brokerage in Tacoma.
Eventually she retired to take care of grandchildren and volunteer at the Maple Valley Community Center. She loved reading books, watching football (go SeaHawks), and enjoyed spending time with her friends and family. In 2007 she informally adopted Alissa’s best-friend and neighbor, Jonelle.
Her grandchildren were always a priority in her life and she loved spotlighting their accomplishments.. She was always ready and willing to listen to them talk about anything and they weren’t afraid to tell her! She made them feel safe in confiding in her.
Gathering with her sisterhood friends monthly was an outing she always looked forward to. She was happy to get together to catch up and excited to find a new restaurant to explore with them.
A stroke in 2015 really put a damper on her freedom, but after a lot of PT and moving to an independent living facility, she was back meeting friends, and becoming a huge fan of the Outlander books. Jonelle and Alissa brought her to the pool for water-walking – with headphones on, lip syncing to John Denver while she walked in the pool about three times a week.
A few years later, a bad case of pneumonia, and an incompetent GI doctor, forced her to move into Mill Ridge assisted living facility. Again, she made friends quickly and earned the love from all the staff. We know this, because after she broke her ankle in March, we found out that her kidneys were no longer working, and she decided to go on hospice, the staff at this facility moved heaven, earth, and Apria to get her back home to spend her final time with them and the friends she had there.
Stevie has said she lived a good life. She lived longer than both her parents and she outlived her husband and her brother. When Alissa asked her if there was anything she would miss, she said she would really miss seeing how her amazing grandchildren turned out. She saw them as her greatest gifts and the most amazing people.
Stevie is survived by her daughters, Alissa, Christinia, and Jonelle, her grandchildren, her great-granddaughter, and her sisters.
For information on memorial services, please email sroberton@gmail.com
