Beverly STILSON

July 31, 1931 - March 24, 2025

Seattle - Beverly Stilson was a force of nature. She was beautiful, smart, charming and funny-and she didn't take crap from anyone. Born in Detroit, Michigan, on July 31st, 1931, she was the daughter of George and Ellen Vafiadi and the older sister of three brothers, Jeff, Larry and Mike.

Bev had a happy childhood in Detroit and had fond memories of attending Lions and Tigers games with her dad, ice skating and hanging out with friends, and listening to big band music with her mom. Sadly, her life would take a tragic turn on November 10th 1944, when her father's plane was shot down in Papua New Guinea. Her mother, now a war widow and raising four kids on her own, packed up and moved her kids across the country to be closer to her sister, who lived in the Spokane area. Ellen landed a secretarial job with the Veterans administration, and Bev took on the responsibility of trying to wrangle her three younger brothers every day after school. It was during this motherhood apprenticeship that Bev most likely uttered for the very first time a phrase that she would later use, when needed, on her own children: "Don't be a s**ta**."

A South-hiller, Bev graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in 1948, then enrolled at Washington State University, where she would study nursing, and meet her future husband, Roger Stilson, in the summer of 1950, at a party thrown by her good friend, Patsy Linke, at Hayden Lake. After a two-year courtship and her graduation from WSU, Bev and Rog would tie the knot. While Rog started his business, Bev worked as a nurse until she became pregnant with their first child, Roger Jr., Jeff would follow, and then Jennifer. A full-time mother of three kids, Bev also played an active role in the community. She was a longtime member of the League of Women Voters in Spokane and ultimately served as the organization's president. She also proudly sat on the board of directors for Expo '74.

All three of the Stilson kids attended Hamblen Elementary, Sacajawea Junior High School, Ferris High School and the University of Washington. Though proud that her kids earned degrees from the University of Washington, Bev never wavered in her allegiance to her alma mater, in spite of the constant thrashings her Cougs took from their dominant cross-state rival-the Washington Huskies. It took a hearty soul like Bev's to be a Cougar fan during the Don James era.

When her kids were older, more independent, and no longer acting like s**ta**es, Bev returned to work, landing a position as a school nurse for Spokane School District 81. She loved her job until the day she retired. Another one of her passions was traveling. She and Rog took annual trips to Mexico and traveled the globe, but their favorite place of all was just 75 miles from Spokane-Priest Lake, Idaho. They spent summers at Hill's Resort, where they formed a lifelong bond with George and Lois Hill. In 1970, they bought their own cabin and lucked into two of the best neighbors anyone could have-Bill and Nancy Brodersen. The four became fast friends, and decades of eating, drinking and borderline debauchery ensued.

Bev and Rog also loved their basset hounds through the years. Gwennie, Lannie, Angie, Abbie, Maggie, and Luther. Though Bev, on occasion, would complain about the dogs' shedding, slobbering and lower-quartile intelligence, she was a devoted mother to her sweet but dimwitted pets.

Beverly Stilson had many passions in life but the thing that meant the most to her was her family. To the very end, Bev talked about how lucky she was to have a husband who loved her as much as Roger did and to have three kids who, by the grace of God, have never gone to prison. Knock on wood.

RIP Beverly Stilson. You were one helluva broad. An American original. And there will NEVER be another one like you.