Barbara Stevens

1931 - 2021

Barbara H. Stevens
Sep 15, 1931 - Jun 18, 2021
Barbara Ellen Heil, the only child of Dr. Walter and Katherine Buttrick Heil, was born in Detroit, Michigan September 15, 1931. The family moved to San Francisco in 1933 when her father became the director of the M.H de Young Memorial Museum, a position he held until 1961. Barbara attended Presidio Hill, Katherine Delmar Burke's, and graduated from UC Berkeley in 1952, an Alpha Phi.

A fond childhood experience she liked to recount was when a photo of five-year-old Barbara, taken by renowned photographer and close family friend John Gutmann, was used in the 1940's "Pickle-Puss" ad campaign for CHB "catsup, pickles, and condiments", and her face began appearing in newspapers and billboards around the city, resulting in a bit of pride but also much teasing from her classmates.

In 1957 she married Dr. Leyland E. Stevens, whom she met when working at Stanford Hospital, then based in SF. They shared a love of Tahoe, hiking and backpacking in the high Sierra, classical and chamber music concerts, and raising their three children.

Barbara loved to cook, to swim, to sing (she was a longtime member of the SF Choral Society), but most of all she loved to garden. The garden at her home on Edgewood Avenue was her refuge, a creative outlet, and a sanctuary for the many wilted clippings gathered far and wide that would be nurtured back to health in her care. She was a long-time volunteer (55 years in 2019) at the SF Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, and attended countless talks and events there and at the California Academy of Sciences.

She was involved with the SF Landscape Garden Show from its inception in 1985 and served on the board for twelve more years. With show co-founder Nancy Conner she wrote the book Where on Earth – a Guide to Specialty Nurseries, an invaluable resource for gardeners, which is now in its fifth edition.

She was a supporter of many cultural and horticultural societies such as the Community Music Center, the Children's Theater Assoc., the California Horticultural Society, and the California Native Plant Society, to name but a few.

Barbara was fortunate to travel widely, often with horticulture groups, seeing the natural wonders in China, Turkey, Iran, Argentina, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, and South Africa. In later years she maintained her curiosity with the wonderful classes at the Fromm Institute.

Barbara died peacefully in her home on June 18. She was predeceased by her husband Lee (1995), and is survived by her three children Amy, Ted, and Peter, son-in-law Frank Wang, and cat Bushy. Barbara will be remembered as a force of nature and a true original. Gifts in Barbara's memory can be made to the SF Botanical Garden, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Fromm Institute.