It is with sadness that we announce the passing of our Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, Theresa Marie Stevenson (nee Redwood) on January 25, 2021 at the Centennial Lodge Care Home in Broadview, Saskatchewan.
She was predeceased by her father John (1959), mother Helen (1941), and husband Robert (2017), brother Sonny, sisters Agathe, Olive, Cora, and Emma and granddaughters Carmen and Willene.
She is survived by her sister, Joyce (Doyle) Hiatt of Rathdrum, Idaho, her brother Jubilee, and her three sons, David of Broadview, SK, Wes (Kristy) Stevenson of West Kelowna, BC, and Greg (Brenda) Stevenson of Cowessess, SK., adopted sons E. Dutch Lerat and Donald E. Worme; very special friends Brigg and Chris Judy of Broadview, SK; granddaughters Niki of Nanaimo, BC, Amy of Port Moody, BC, Kara of Belgrade, MT, Molly Jo of Wolfe Point, MT and grandsons, Golden of Regina, SK, and Ryan and Eric Witherly of Los Angeles, CA, and twelve great-grandchildren.
Mom was born on June 26, 1927 on the Cowessess First Nation just north of Broadview, SK. and at the age of 6 she was taken from her home and placed in the Marieval Residential School until the age of 15. She would often laugh and say that her “fondest” memory of her years there was the menu for Friday suppers which the kids called “Belly-Ache Soup.” Any foods left over from the week were thrown into the pot.
Mom married our dad Robert (Bob) in 1950 and in 1955 they moved to Montana where they lived until 1970 when they returned to Regina. Mom took upgrading classes at St. Pats Education Centre when they returned and in 1978, she founded Regina Indian Community Awareness. She served as its Executive Director for many years. Working out of the city-owned Albert-Scott Neighborhood Centre her program provided urban First Nations families with food, clothing, housing and social-related services. This led to developing Silver Sage Housing which continues to provide low-income housing to Regina’s First Nations people.
In 1974, she saw that students in the city core area were going to school without eating. As a young woman Mom felt hunger and never forgot the pain and started feeding them, paying for food from her and her husband’s own funds. In 1979, she started Chili for Children, a program that provides hot nutritious lunches for school children in low-income Regina neighborhoods.
She served as a Senator with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), formerly known as the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. She was also active on the Silver Sage Housing Board, Saskatchewan First Nations Women's Council, and the Regina City Police Indigenous Community Relations.
Mom’s many awards include FSIN Citizen of the Year (1988), Member of the Order of Canada (1994), Saskatchewan Order of Merit (1995), National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Community Development (1999), and an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Regina (1999.) In 2005, the City of Regina honoured Mom by naming a city park after her, the “Theresa Stevenson Park.”
Mom spoke at many different functions and she would always provide her audiences with encouragement by saying, “At one time I was ashamed of my brown skin, ashamed to be an Indian. But today I stand in front of you and I’m very proud to be an Indian woman. Be proud of who you are.”
While we are deeply saddened to say goodbye, but we’re happy that she’ll be re-united with her loved ones who passed before her. The family would like to thank the staff at Centennial Lodge in Broadview where she lived for the last 4 years.
A celebration of life will be planned at a later date because of the Covid-19 protocols. In the meantime a celebration of Mom’s life was live-streamed on Saturday, January 30, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. with the link below.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to “Chili for the Children” at www.chiliforchildren.com or email at [email protected]
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