Fair weather friends are a dime a dozen. But you’ll always know who your true friends are when they stand by you in a crisis.
Corey Stevens has been a Redmond Police officer for two years and his wife Katlyn Stevens has worked for Redmond Parks and Recreation for just one year. Yet after the couple suffered a profound loss, their co-workers and other community members have showered them with every kindness imaginable.
On March 18, Corey and Katlyn’s first baby, a daughter named Amelia, was delivered stillborn.
“We were heartbroken, needless to say,” Katlyn said. “My husband’s co-workers kicked into action. People visited us at the hospital, meals were dropped off a day after we arrived home, cards came in stacks, visitors kept us company, church services were offered, donations and gifts came in immediately, and a constant stream of phone calls.”
Visitors included Redmond Police Commander Shari Shovlin, “who sat with us in the meeting with our case worker,” Katlyn noted, and Lieutenants Glenn Rotton and Eric Scairpon and his wife. Officer Matt Hurley took up a collection to donate a service at Meadowbrook Church.
On a regular basis, police officers see shock and devastation in the faces of crime and accident victims and their loved ones.
However, said Corey, when that happens, “you feel connected but not on a personal level. It’s their tragedy, not yours. When it happens to you, you rely on each other, the support of friends, family and co-workers.”
He and Katlyn said their colleagues have definitely treated them “like family” since the news of their loss was announced.
“They haven’t questioned time off. They said, ‘Take as much time as you need, no questions asked,'” Katlyn remarked.
Married two years ago, Corey and Katlyn were high school sweethearts. She graduated from Bellevue High and he from Lake Washington High. They both attended Western Washington University, majoring in Community Recreation Management.
Corey’s dad works at the Redmond branch of the United States Postal Service and his co-workers sent a sympathy card and money to the couple. The Redmond Senior Center did the same, “even though we have no connection to anyone there,” Katlyn said.
“Police Records and Dispatch have also been very supportive,” Corey added.
The couple lives in Kirkland, just outside the Redmond border. They said they never would have expected so much compassion from this community and wanted to publicly acknowledge how much it has meant to them.
“My husband has been with RPD for two years, but we feel as though it has been a lifetime and we couldn’t have asked for a better city to work for,” Katlyn concluded.
