Alice L. Stevens, of Asotin, stepped into the embrace of her Lord Jesus Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. She lived her 83 years to the fullest.
She was born July 8, 1928, in Denver, the third daughter of Wallace and Dorothy Shapcott. Her fondest childhood memories were of summers spent at her grandfather's ranch in Encampment, Wyo. Every moment she could escape the chores of the ranch, she could be found on the back of any available horse, roaming through the pastures. Pirate was her favorite. She loved most anything to do with horses her entire life, and just the smell would evoke wistful memories of her beloved childhood. She was adventurous in her life, trying new gadgets, new sports and new hobbies as quickly as she could get her hands on them. Not only was she an avid horsewoman, but she also enjoyed skiing, quilting, cooking, painting, camping and traveling.
This sense of adventure continued in 1951, when she started working as a clerk at the Defense Minerals Exploration project in the basement of the Mines Building at the University of Arizona. It was here that she caught the eye of mining engineering student James (Jim) Stevens. He was smitten from the very first moment, and he finally convinced her to marry him in 1953. Their marriage was romantic and exciting. They celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary this past August! Alice was Jim's best friend and the love of his life. She will never be forgotten.
Although Jim and Alice traveled all over the Western United States for Jim's job, Arizona was always Alice's favorite state. She loved the desert in bloom, and wherever she lived she took the desert with her.
People were always welcome at her home and there was always a pot of coffee brewing. Alice was the perfect hostess to governors, movie stars and tribal leaders of the day. During their busy schedules, Jim and Alice found time to have three amazing children, Becky, Susan and Jimmy. Alice fiercely loved her children. She opened her entire heart to them, holding nothing back, while giving them the support and encouragement they needed to thrive. Her whole world was about loving her children, and later her seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
She was kind and generous, a defender of anyone or thing, small or helpless, unless it slithered. She never lost her sense of innocence or grew tired of looking for rainbows, or listening to the joys or sorrows of her loved ones. She always offered a hand, a kind word or a hug to friends, neighbors and family when they needed it. She was quick to laugh, and she maintained a mischievous sparkle in her eye that betrayed her as the culprit of a practical joke or the instigator of a water fight. There was never a dull moment when she was in the area.
Alice is reunited with her son, Jimmy, who passed away tragically in 1991. She has also joined her two sisters and her parents, who passed before her.
She is going to be greatly missed by her daughter, Becky, and son-in-law Danno White of Sedro-Woolley, Wash., and their two grown children, Dana, with wife Kim, of Helena, Mont., and Craig, with wife Naomi, also of Sedro-Woolley, and Alice's four great-grandchildren. They will remember Alice as being a lover of sunflowers and a woman who never had a negative word to say about anyone; someone who loved without restraint. They know she loved Jesus with her whole heart, as she displayed that love in her everyday life.
Her daughter Susan also mourns her passing but remembers her mother as someone who was helpful and who served her Lord faithfully. Her daughters, Barbara of Las Vegas, Laurie of Omaha, Neb., and Kate, with husband Ryan Benish of Dalton, Neb., fondly remember their grandmother as a vivacious woman who took chances, and persistently encouraged her grandchildren to strive toward goodness. She was a solace and a shelter from the storm of life.
Alice's son Jimmy left behind two daughters when he died. Kelly of Whidbey Island, Wash., and Whitney of Spokane remember a grandmother who never gave up loving them, who believed in the best for all the members of her family, and never stopped cheering them on toward the success of their goals.
Alice Stevens taught her family how to love. That love continues to grow. Because of that Love, and her faith in Christ, Alice Stevens lives on.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that all donations be made instead to The Smile Train.
