Eugenia "Sandy" Stebbins Hilton Obituary (1933 - 2019)

Sandy, as she was known, died on August 10, 2019. She was born Eugenia Mae Sandel on March 4, 1933, in Mt. Pulaski, near Lincoln, Illinois. She was the youngest of four children born to Dora and William Sandel. Sandy grew up on a farm just outside of Lincoln and graduated as a registered nurse from nurses training at Memorial Hospital in Springfield, Illinois, in 1953. She married Jim Stebbins in 1954, and together they raised their four children over the next 25 years until Jim's sudden and accidental death in 1978. During those years, Sandy worked as a surgical nurse in several of the cities they lived in, volunteered in the community, and was a devoted mother and wife. In the early 90's, Sandy wrote a fascinating history of the first 20 years of her life and "published" it for the family, complete with many pictures from that time. Family was always a vital and cherished part of her life. Sandy converted to the Catholic faith in 1957. She always spoke gratefully about her experience in the mid-1970s of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, which caused a significant deepening of her relationship with God. She valued and relied on that experience to the day of her death. The community of Capitol Hill (1960's-1970's) was and remains a special and close group of families. Sandy married her friend and neighbor, Bob Hilton, in 1983. Sandy and Bob celebrated 35 years of a wonderful and loving marriage this past year. They traveled widely across the US and major cities in Europe as a result of his employment and their shared interest in travel. They enjoyed cruises and car trips and until 2016 explored the back roads of Washington extensively. Sandy was an active and accomplished gardener most of her life, and in the last couple of years enjoyed the views of the yard she developed as she tried to regain her strength from the multiple health challenges she faced. Her deep and sustaining Catholic faith and her wonderful sense of humor carried her through the deaths of her first husband and her son, Richard, and her own health issues. Sandy is survived by her children, Mike, Mark, and Julie; her stepson, Jason Hilton; nine grandchildren; her husband, Bob; her sister, Vera; and her brother, Merlin. Remembrances may be made to The Faber Institute 3400 SE 43rd Ave, Portland, OR 97206 https://faberinstitute.com/ which offers the Spiritual Exercises and other resources aimed at helping people "go deeper." The institute's director, Fr. Rick Ganz, is a longtime friend of Sandy's son, Mike. Providence Hospice of Seattle Foundation, 2811 S 102nd Street, Suite 220, Tukwila, WA 98168; www.providence.org/hosdonate A Funeral Service will be held Friday, August 23rd at 11am at St. Joseph Church 732 18th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112 Hoffner Fisher & Harvey Guestbook at harveyfuneral.com