Stephanie Louise Roussel Milburn

She was preceded in death by her husband, William Claude Milburn, her father and mother, Hubert and Dewey Roussel and by her older brother, Hubert Roussel, Jr.

She is survived by her two daughters, Leslie Young of Grapevine, Texas and Laurie Pomara of Dallas, Texas, her younger brother, Peter Harris Roussel of Houston, Texas, her grandchildren, Jesse Peter Pomara, Leah Tanner and Shawn Young, as well as cousins.

Stephanie was born in Houston, Texas on the 2nd of September 1932, as America was in the throes of the Great Depression. It was said at the time that her father, a lifelong writer, author and newspaper columnist, wrote the book, “Aunt Fanny’s History of Houston,” to pay her birth expenses. Her father’s favorite writer was the novelist and short story writer, Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage, so she was named Stephanie.

Her older brother, Hubert Roussel, Jr., an outstanding athlete, was almost nine years older than she. Later, there would be another brother, Peter, who would be nine years younger. That younger brother would later serve two tours of duty in the White House, including as a spokesman for President Reagan, where he found one of his proudest moments being a photograph taken in 1982 of Stephanie and their mother with President and Mrs. Reagan.

Stephanie’s childhood was brief. On December 13, 1944, at the innocent age of 12, that childhood ended. Reality and tragedy were set upon her still growing shoulders in a way she never imagined. A young girl was instantly introduced to adulthood when she had the unenviable task of informing her three-year-old brother that their 20-year-old brother had been lost in action in World War II as a member of a B-29 bomber crew in the Pacific. Of this moment, she would later say: “Peter was too young to understand, but I tried.” It was a loss that would occupy a special place in her heart forever.

She attended St. Agnes Academy, Lamar High School and the University of Houston. At the latter, she acted in a variety of theatre productions for which she received excellent reviews. But it wasn’t because her father was the drama critic for the Houston Post, but rather because she worked long and hard and earned the praise. She wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

She came from a family that was an integral part of Houston’s performing arts and journalism scene, 1930s-1960s. Her father was columnist and fine arts critic for the Houston Post, 1933-66. Her mother was an actress, writer and one of the founders of the Houston Little Theatre. Her mother also helped create the Stage Door Canteen at the Auditorium Hotel which provided entertainment for the troops passing through Houston during World War II.

Stephanie was also a ballerina, and in 1947, at age14, she went to New York City to study at the legendary Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo school there, known as Swoboda’s. She also studied ballet in Houston with Alexander Kotchetovsky, who had been a member of the original Ballet Russe during its formative years in Paris, a company that included Nijinksy and Pavlova. That experience led her to dance, sing and act in the 1940s and 1950s in productions of Houston’s Summer Light Opera company, the forerunner to today’s TUTS. Of all the shows in which she appeared, her favorite was Brigadoon. Like her mother, she too acted at Houston’s Little Theatre, a forerunner to today’s Alley and other Houston theatres.

During those years, her parent’s home was visited by many notable performing artists—actors, actresses, directors, conductors, musicians and dancers. And Stephanie loved it. It was the world in which she grew up. Some of those visitors at her home included members of the fabled Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo classical dance company. Years later, after becoming a parent, one of her daughters, Leslie, would have the role of Clara in a Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo production of The Nutcracker. It was a very proud moment for Stephanie. Her other daughter, Laurie, fell asleep during the performance.

Forsaking her performing career for parenthood, Stephanie was devoted to her children and grandchildren. She loved them with all that was within her. They visited her often and vice-versa. They were the lights of her life. Stephanie was also a great lover of animals, including her cats, Girl and Bella.

Stephanie was the hardest of workers and strove for perfection in whatever her hand touched, a trait well known to her colleagues at St. John the Divine Church where she served as Hospitality Coordinator and produced their special events. The events she produced there were impeccably beautiful. There was an unmistakable touch to these events, Stephanie’s hand giving them a unique luster. She loved her church and its family, her extended family. Those events and her children and grandchildren are her legacy.

Her family would like to extend their deepest gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Amy T. Mynderse, Dr. Suzanne Lasek-Nesselquist, Lamont L. Seltzer and all the team at the intensive care unit of The Methodist Hospital for the care, support and friendship she received.

A funeral service is to be conducted at eleven o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, the 31st of December, at the Church of St. John the Divine Church, 2450 River Oaks Boulevard in Houston, where the Rev. Dr. Clay Lein, Rector, and the Rev. Dr. Douglas W. Richnow, D. Min., Senior Associate Rector, are to officiate.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the adjacent Sumners Hall.