Barbara Ethel Stevens

Mrs. Barbara Ethel Stevens, 92, of Central Point, Oregon, passed away on Saturday evening, October 25, 2025, at her home in Central Point. She had experienced multiple illnesses and was under hospice care at the time of her death, which came while she was quietly asleep with family at her bedside.

Born Barbara Ethel Nichols in Orange, California, in 1933 to her parents Giles H. Nichols and Ethel A. Weaver. She lived in Fullerton in her youth, eventually settling in Colton with her father and sister, Phyllis Nichols. She graduated from Colton High School, where she enjoyed swimming and mathematics. Years later, she attended Crafton Hills College, where she graduated with an Associate of Arts degree. A notable job in her youth was as an usher at a movie theatre in San Bernardino, California, which she enjoyed immensely as she made friends, had fun, and participated in movie premieres and special events. She carried a love of popcorn throughout her life. Early in World War II, she took a job with the federal government as a Civil Service employee at Norton AFB in San Bernardino. She continued to work for the federal government for the rest of her career, eventually becoming a personnel specialist and working at several agencies, including the Air Force, Social Security Administration, Defense Audiovisual Agency, and Veterans Affairs, before retiring.

In 1956, she married Burlyn Arden Stevens, to whom she was married for 49 years. After military service in the Army, Mr. Stevens went to work with the Santa Fe Railroad, where he worked until retirement. They had two sons, Dennis and Darryl. The young family moved first to Azusa, then to San Bernardino. In their later working years, the family moved to Yucaipa, where they purchased some land large enough to build a house and raise Quarter Horses, which they did for many years afterward. After retirement, they bought land in Gold Hill, Oregon, where they continued to enjoy raising Quarter Horses and enjoyed living a country lifestyle.

Her husband became seriously ill and passed away in 2006, at which time she moved from Gold Hill to Central Point, Oregon, and lived alone in a beautiful home, which she surrounded with flowers, front and back, and became an expert at cultivating orchids. She picked up additional hobbies, including quilting and genealogy. She missed not being around horses and adorned the living space in her home with mementos of her days raising and riding horses.

She later came down with some chronic illnesses and needed some assistance, so she moved into a senior assisted living center, where she lived until her passing. She was visited by close friends and family near the time of her death, and her sons were at her bedside at the time of her passing, which occurred while she slept.

Mrs. Stevens was preceded in death by her parents, Giles and Ethel Nichols, and her husband, Burlyn Arden Stevens. She is survived by her sister, Phyllis Staggs of Mariposa, California, and by her children, Darryl Stevens of Bandon, Oregon, Dennis Stevens of Medford, Oregon, and one grandson, Kyle Stevens, of Terrebonne, Oregon. Mrs. Stevens was buried next to her husband in the Eagle Point National Cemetery on November 3, 2005, attended by a small gathering of her children and close local friends.