Stephanie Burrows Pestona

Stephanie Diana Burrows Pestona, age 51, of Houston, Texas passed away at her home on February 20, 2016. She was born on February 28, 1964, in Omaha, Nebraska. She was the daughter of David Powell Burrows and the late Terry W. Burrows Sullivan.

Stephanie spent her childhood in Memphis, Tennessee and graduated from the Immaculate Conception High School. Stephanie and her sisters spent time with Terry’s two sisters, Penny Adkins and the late Betty Watts, as well as her eighteen first cousins, and our extended family of the late Art and Joan Shea and their children. Summers were spent with her sisters and father, her Aunt Ann Burrows and Uncle Lorry at Higgins Lake, Michigan. “The Lake” became her special place for both her and for her children.

Stephanie received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. While there, she pledged Chi Omega, made many friends and never missed a Volunteer football game. Go Vols! She knew every word to “Rocky Top” and still did push-ups after every touchdown. Some people might say she never left college being the fun-loving woman that she was.

Stephanie began her career as a Human Resources Specialist for the Methodist Hospital of Memphis where she worked for thirteen years. She later moved to Houston where she worked as a Director of Human Resources at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Field LLP. Most recently, Stephanie worked at the Woman’s Hospital of Texas. It was amazing how many lives she touched throughout her career. Her loving heart and down to earth nature made everyone know that they mattered.

In 1993, Stephanie married Rob Pestona in Memphis, Tennessee. Their two sons, Evan Anthony and Andrew Emerson were born in Memphis. She and her family spent a lot of time with her mother and her husband, Dr. Joseph Sullivan. Joe’s sons, Josh and Peter Sullivan were also very involved with their nephews.

Stephanie was an avid reader and loved to just sit down and read. She would amaze her sons at how fast she could read through a novel as thick as a dictionary! She enjoyed gardening and found so much joy in watching her garden bloom, year after year.

In 2000, Stephanie and her sons moved to Houston, Texas where she met Jack Bolton. They remained life companions for the better part of sixteen years and up until her death. Stephanie watched her boys grow up and was able to spend lots of time with her sisters, Missy, Joslyn and Shelly Burrows and her half-brother David Jr whom also all live/lived in Texas. Her sons are more like brothers than cousins to Joslyn’s two daughters, Morgan and Jordon Lasseter. Stephanie loved her nieces as if they were her own. She was a wonderful storyteller. To this day, they all still believe in “Magic Dust”, which Stephanie would sprinkle onto her sons and nieces every night before bedtime so they would have sweet dreams.

Stephanie’s fondest memories were during the weeks surrounding the 4th of July which were spent at Higgins Lake, Michigan with her sons, sisters, father, nieces and multitudes of cousins! These would become some of the best and most peaceful times of her life. She always had a strong appreciation for nature and loved to take morning walks on the front path and watch the sunsets on the lake. She also enjoyed just floating on the pontoon listening to music with her family or lounging at the end of the dock with a good book. She loved to sit around the campfire, enjoying our 4th of July dinner before heading down to the dock to watch the fabulous fireworks headed up by George Heilbronn and Scott Morley. Stephanie was a great socializer, especially at the Brand’s annual 4th of July cocktail party and during meals at the dining hall. Everyone at “The Lake” knows that these are some of the best times of our lives. Stephanie honestly loved nothing more than to be able to get together once a year, no matter what, with her family.

Anyone that knew Stephanie would be able to tell you how much she adored animals! She had compassion and love for every living thing. She had dogs, lambs, cats, fish, birds, both domestic and wild, pot belly pigs, sugar gliders (flying squirrels), opossums, snakes, bunnies and she loved her chickens that she raised with Jack in Conroe. She finally was able to have the farm she always wanted! It’s important to know that she loved much more than her own furry children. She cherished the time she got to spend with her sister Shelly’s fur babies. She would personally tell each of them “You is kind, you is smart and you is important!” That wasn’t the only thing she would tell her animals; she had her own language. I guarantee if you ask her boys, they would be able to recite her “language”, even though they have no clue as to what she was saying!

Stephanie took lots of pride in being a mother. She always showed so much love toward her boys and if you ask them, maybe even a little too much. There was never a day that they were together that she didn’t tell them how much she loved them. She made sure that they grew up with lots of respect for their elders and taught them manners. She knew how important presentation was and also taught them to be kind and courteous to everyone who walked into their lives. She believed that spending a few extra minutes with someone, or just a few kind words, could make all the difference in the world. To the boys, she was always more than a mother; she was their friend. They were able to talk to her about anything. She tried to make anyone and everyone feel loved, putting her own happiness and issues on the backburner. She was a loving, supportive, kind and beautiful free spirit. She never failed to make the saddest person grin. This is how she wanted to be remembered and she will be sorely and truly missed by all. Her most important mission of all was that her boys always knew that they were special and loved and that nothing would ever change that. As she used to tell us (the boys) “I love you forever, I like you for always, as long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be”.

We love you to the moon and back, Mom.