Mr. Stevens  spent 30 years in public education in Sonoma County, both as a teacher and an administrator with the Wright Elementary School District. Robert L. Stevens Elementary School was named in his honor in 1994.
     Mr. Stevens began his teaching career at Vine Hill School north of Sebastopol, a now-closed one-room school house where he was both teacher and principal.
    Two years later, he was hired as principal and superintendent of the Wright School District. He was instrumental in passing the bond for the district's second school, J.X. Wilson school, built in 1977.
   "He was a good teacher, a good administrator and a good community member and he did it all without fanfare. He never wanted the limelight," said his son Jack Stevens.
    Mr. Sevens has been described as a forward thinking administrator. He established enrichment programs, including sports and band at a time other districts lacked them. He was also the first school administrator in Northern California to recognize the special educational needs of the disabled and started two schools for them.
    Mr. Stevens was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and went to Mount St. Mary's College in Maryland on football and baseball scholarships. He was subsequently inducted into Mount St. Mary's College Hall of Fame for both sports.
    He served his country in World War II in the Army Air Corp. as a P-38 flight instructor and pilot and was a retired Lt. Colonel in the U. S. Air Force. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for the missions he completed in the skies over North Africa. He was a member of the Air Force First Fighter Group.

Donna Mazzucchi, former Superintendent of the Wright School District and friend to Mr. Stevens said, "He had a great sense of humor and a way of treating everyone with respect. He had a big smile and a contagious laugh. He was playful and witty, like Tom Sawyer playing a joke on Huck Finn."

Mr. Stevens legacy will live on through his family, friends and all the children's lives he touched as an educator and administrator.