Catherine Elizabeth Stevenson

Betty was born on January 24, 1934, to Lawrence Oran and Margaret Elizabeth Perkins in Houston, Texas. She was born into a large, lively family and was educated in the public schools of the Houston area.

After earning her high school equivalency, Betty worked first as a teller then rose through the ranks to become a loan officer at Sterling Bank, the former Jersey Village Bank. She was proud of her accomplishments and often talked of her career with great fondness.

She married the love of her life, Robert Joel (“Bob”) Stevenson on May 5, 1967. Together they raised their son, Robby, along with Bob’s daughters, Nancy and Shelley. In their life together Bob and Betty were active in the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston, appearing together in productions of “The Pirates of Penzance”, “The Mikado,” “H.M.S. Pinafore,” and many, many others. Betty sang in her church choir at Chapelwood United Methodist Church of Houston, and later, following Bob’s death in 1992, with the Bluebonnet Chorale in Burnet, TX, where she lived from 1994 until 2017. She moved to Paige, TX, and spent the rest of her life in this rural community, close to her son and grandchildren.

In addition to her love of singing, Betty was an avid genealogy researcher. Her investigations of both the Perkins and Stevenson families led her and Bob on many excursions to other states. Wherever their “big adventures” took them they always made their way back through to New Orleans, one of their favorite destinations. When she wasn’t sleuthing about her family’s history, she enjoyed crossword puzzles and following the cases of Agatha Christie, Perry Mason, and Mrs. Fletcher.

Betty was a devoted wife and mother, and her “pride and joy” were her grandchildren: Jamie, Andrew, Patrick, Hayley, Kelley, Casey, Brandon, Avery, Sean, Adam, and Alex. To them, she will always be “Gigi.”

Betty is survived by her sister Billie, of Rosharon, TX; her son, Robert and wife, Jenny, of Paige, TX; daughter Nancy Stevenson and husband, Michael DiMascio, of Hopkinton, MA; grandchildren Jamie Stevenson and Amy Whitworth of Bastrop, TX; Andrew Summer and husband, Derek Poludniak of Buda, TX; Patrick Stevenson and fiancee, Karlye Bujnoch of Galveston, TX; Hayley DiMascio of Smithfield, RI; Kelly DiMascio of North Attleboro, MA; and Casey DiMascio of Watertown, MA; Brandon Cunningham and Avery Lowery of Dayton, TX; Sean May; Adam Mayfield and Alex Mayfield. She is also survived by her dear friend, Roseanne Spangler.

Betty is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Bob; parents, Lawrence and Margaret Perkins; stepdaughter Shelley May, and her siblings: Kris, Nellie, Peggy, Mildred, Carl, Larry, and Richard.

The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff of Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas for their care, attention, and overwhelming support during Betty’s stay. We will never forget.

Services will be held on Friday, September 5, at 2:00 p.m. at Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home followed by interment at Forest Park Lawndale. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a charitable donation to the performing arts or fine arts organization of your choice.

“Life's perhaps the only riddle that we shrink from giving up.” - W. S. Gilbert