Roberta Ann Brawner Stacey

Roberta Ann Brawner Stacey, age 90, of Hillsborough, NC was born on February 24, 1936 to Milton and Gladys Brawner in Joliet, IL and passed away on Monday, April 20, 2026 in Hillsborough, NC surrounded by her loving family.

Roberta (aka 'Robbie', aka 'Mimi') married Donald Wayne Stacey on March 27, 1958. Together, they very lovingly raised four children. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Colorado and, after a move east, a Master of Education with a focus on Speech-Language Pathology from Harvard University. Robbie enjoyed a long career as a speech and language pathologist at Landmark School in Beverly, Mass. In her over 40-year career at Landmark, Robbie helped thousands of young readers unlock the magic of language, reading, and speech. She gathered so much knowledge on the subject that she wrote a book, "Thinking About Language", which guided educators to a better understanding of how to effectively manage language instruction. Robbie was constantly reading (she always had a pile of books on her bedside table), playing piano (no family birthday was complete until Robbie played a boisterous rendition of "Happy Birthday"), completing the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle (in ink!), and volunteering at the Hillsborough Visitor's Center. Every person who dropped in at the center was greeted with her signature warmth and welcoming smile. Robbie also was the driving force for family reunions held on both coasts and several states in between. In recent years, more than anything, Mimi truly loved taking care of her 9 grandchildren.

Robbie is survived by her husband of 68 years, Donald "Don" Wayne Stacey; children and their spouses: Kirsten Stacey-Bothwell (husband Vern Bothwell), Richard Stacey (wife Sue Stacey), Eric Stacey (wife Wendy Stacey), and David Stacey (wife Julie Stacey); and grandchildren: Courtney Stacey, Nadia Mounzih, Eliza Stacey, Sharif Mounzih, Kimmi Stacey, Ben Stacey, Nikki Stacey, Sola Stacey and Romy Stacey.

Robbie is preceded in death by sisters: Donna Wilson and Patti Widders; brothers-in-law: Robert Stacey, Gregg Widders, and Keith Wilson; nephew, Jeff Wilson; and great-nephew, Mitch Wilson.

A special thanks to the wonderful caregivers of TerraBella Hillsborough and Gentiva Hospice for making Roberta comfortable and surrounding her with love and support at the end of her life.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made at Snow Approach Foundation, Positive Approach to Care, at: https://snowapproach.org/donate/