The Robert Evans Stealey Memorial Scholarship was created through a bequest from Mr. Stealey to provide scholarships to students with a connection to the Mid-Ohio Valley to attend the College of Law at West Virginia University.

Mr. Stealey was a well-known lawyer and former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. He was born in Parkersburg, the son of Robert and Lillian Casto Stealey, and educated in Wood County schools before graduating from Peddie Preparatory in Heightstown, NJ. Mr. Stealey received his bachelor's and law degrees from West Virginia University.

A former president of West Virginia Law School Association and the West Virginia and Wood County Bar Associations, Mr. Stealey had been a partner in a number of law firms, including Stealey and Black, Hainor, Minor and Ray of Charleston; Boreman and Stealey; and McDougle, Davis, Stealey, and Morris.

Mr. Stealey served two terms in the House of Delegates and had been chairman of the board of trustees of Camden Clark Memorial Hospital. He was named a member of the Parkersburg National Bank Board of Directors in 1948, was named vice president and trust officer in 1968 and president in 1974, serving until 1977. Mr. Stealey also was a member and vestryman at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Mr. Stealey was married to Virginia Pickering Stealey, and they had a son Charles Evans Stealey.