Barbara Jeanne Stevenson

Barbara Stevenson stepped out of time and into eternity in the wee hours of the morning of February second, 2025. Though all who loved her know that she is resting in the arms of God, she leaves behind a void that her loved ones will find no easy way to fill. She was born on the first day of May in 1944, in Kansas City, Missouri. She was the cherished first child of Walter and Josephine (Lydic) Schuldt, who brought her to Norman, Oklahoma, as an infant, where she would grow into a kind and caring young woman, of whom they were justly proud. She graduated from Norman High School in 1962. From there, she matriculated to the University of Oklahoma, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics. She later returned to school and obtained her Master’s Degree from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.

Barbara went on to a teaching career that spanned more than three decades. She taught home economics in both Coweta and Norman – where she taught at Irving Middle School, Central Mid High School, and Norman North High School. Following her retirement from public education, she continued her career by working in elementary education at Trinity Lutheran School. That she was more than successful as a classroom teacher at every grade level is attested to both by the huge outpouring of tributes which her former students posted on Facebook following the announcements of her hospitalization and subsequently of her death, and by the fact that her Central colleagues named her as their candidate for Norman’s Teacher of the Year. She also worked at Hancock Fabrics, where she enjoyed seeing the occasional former student and sharing her sewing expertise with customers.

Barbara juggled a multitude of responsibilities with her characteristic good-nature. In addition to her teaching, she operated a small business out of her home, doing sewing and alterations for anyone who needed those services. To the amazement of her friends, she did all this and STILL managed to cook dinner for her family every night of the week.

She was a very kind-hearted person whose warm personality and sense of humor naturally drew others into her circle. She loved to play Bunco and started a Bunco group when she returned to Norman from Coweta in the early 1980s, a group that has grown and has been playing monthly ever since. She was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church where she did volunteer work. Barbara was also an animal lover who willingly and happily cared for any stray fortunate enough to cross her path. She leaves behind three beloved cats and one adored dog.

Most of all, she loved her family. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Jim, who died in 2018; and by her daughter-in-law, Pamela, in 2023.

She is survived by her three sons – James William of Norman; Kevin Carl (K.C.) of Norman; and John Kyle of Garland, Texas; four grandchildren, Blake Stevenson and wife Misty; and Taylor Stevenson of Garland, Texas; Kevin Stevenson and Cassidy Kilborn and husband Dwight of Moore; three great-grandchildren – Jaxon, Paisley, and Violet; one sister, Susan Carol Crane of Norman; one brother, John Walter Schuldt and wife Theresa of Norman; and a host of nieces and nephews who also treasured her. In addition, her family wishes to acknowledge her special friends, affectionately called ‘The Golden Girls Lunch Bunch’ – Connie Hawkins, Melinda Minshall, Shirley Traw Beckenhauer, and the late Judy Talley-Dale.

Barbara will be remembered as an anchor to family and friends alike – as a person whose love, patience, and compassion was a comfort to all who were close to her. Her idea of a perfect day was one spent surrounded by her beloved family. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. She will be painfully missed by the loved ones she leaves behind on this side of the line that divides Heaven and Earth.

Memorial contributions may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, 603 Classen Boulevard, Norman, Oklahoma, 73071, where her funeral service is planned for Saturday, February 15, at 10:00 a.m.