Robert Wade "Bob" Stevens

Robert "Bob" Wade Stevens

Robert Wade Stevens' physical life left this world on April 22, 2025. He was just shy of 78 years, and 55 of those years were spent married to his beloved Mary. The vastness of his beautiful heart and soul remain.

Bob was born in Ames, Iowaand moved to Auburn in his early years when his father accepted a professor of organic chemistry position at the university.

Dad's early years included intense friendships including John and Roy Owen (who would become his brothers through marriage) and his lifelong best friend Henry "Bumpi" Barwood.

Scouting was an important part of Bob's life and something he passed on to his children and grandchildren. Bob earned a BS and MS in Agronomy and Soils from Auburn University and remained a fervent fan. He also served our country for 25 years through the Army Reserves, assigned to the Veterinary Unit in Opelika, AL.

Bob worked as a soil conservationist, mapping Shelby, Walker and Russell Counties in Alabama. His days were spent walking the land, sampling and recording. It was the perfect engagement because it allowed him the opportunity to deeply interact with the natural world, and continue to hone his sight for unusual native plants, fossils, rocks and minerals, and indigenous artifacts. His love of these things meant that our childhood was spent learning to see as well, to find the magic inside a tiny crystal cluster or in the delicate blooms of a trillium.

His love of native azaleas and rhododendron was present in his entire adult life which means there was a childhood for us of planting and toting water. It was hard to see the beauty and potential in that as a kid. Today all that he planted and cultivated is a continuous gift at our beloved family millpond. He even planted many of the native azaleas at the Birmingham Botanical Garden.

Dad loved family history, most especially on his mother's side.

And books. My goodness, did Bob love books. Even though there are thousands at the house, a Bob Stevens check out from the Auburn Public Library was 30+ books at a time.

And he could not get rid of anything, hence the thousands of books. But he could not dispose of something that could be used or was a source of knowledge, though there were some intense discussions on what defined "usability." He has bestowed an entire archive of primary documents to our family.

He was a poll worker for Chambers County, served on the planning commission of Waverly, was a long-time member of the Knights of Columbus, and was known to work with several high schools on Science Olympiad. Dad also donated gallons and gallons of blood to help peoplebecause he had what people needed. He and Mary were regular donors to the East Alabama Food Bank.

Dad loved all his pets so dearly. He was a softy. His life was graced with many fine cats and dogs who gave him great joy and love.

There really is no way to express how much our Dad loved our Mom, Mary. He always told us, the best and most important thing he ever did was ask Mary to share her life with him, always. And they did-through all kinds of ups and downs, 55 years together. What a beautiful life they had together.

Without fail, in the last almost 30 years, being "Big Daddy" to his four grandchildren was his greatest joy. He loved talking with Mason, Sarah, Lauren and Annalee about anything they were doing. They brought him cool rocks or artifacts they had found and he'd tell them the kind of rock, where it was from, and if it had been worked, the purpose of the tool. He delighted in each of their lives, watching them grow and flourish.

If there was a way for Bob Stevens to carry some of his beloved mineral specimens, trillium or native azaleas with him, he would have. He has left his family a lifetime of collections to remember him by, and his wonder and appreciation of all things in the natural world. What that means for us is that he will always be present, that his many loves are entwined in our daily lives.

Those of us still here, who miss our Bob, our Dad, our Big Daddy are his most beloved wife Mary, his children, Frank (wife Shannon) and Kyes (wife Lisa) and four brilliant and beautiful grandchildren, Mason, Sarah, Lauren and Annalee.

He has gone to meet many beloveds: his parents, Frank and Kay; his brother, Mark, Annie Mae, Bumpi, Fraffy, Hank and Reba, and a whole lifetime's worth of beloved pets.

In honor of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, please consider a donation to a Food Bank or Animal Rescue Organization of your choice or plant a tree or go for a long walk in the woods and don't be in a hurry. Find all the seemingly hidden beauty and then share that with someone.

Please look up Mary Oliver's poem: Summer Day and ask yourself, "what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life."

Thank you, Dad. For everything. We love you more than we can say.