Volume 23 Issue 1 May 2015 The Stewart Family Bulletin

Volume 23 Issue 1

May 2015

Stewart Family Bulletin The

Lucille * Paul * Jess * Olive * Martha * John * Clifford * Clark * Mary * Joe * David

Mark your calendars! Saturday, May 23

Marti and Dave Bates have graciously offered their lovely home (and pool) for this year’s summer picnic.

As usual, bring a dish to share, drinks for you and your family, and tableware.

Come at 11:00AM - Lunch is at 12PM.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GRADUATES!

Patrick Stewart (Andy & Ninnette Stewart, grandson of Clark & Jean Stewart), graduates from the University of Missouri, Columbia on May 17. Patrick will graduate with majors in Psychology and Spanish. In July, he will become a mem-ber of the Missouri College Advising Corps (MCAC), a college-access advising program. MCAC hires recent graduates of University of Missouri campuses to work in high schools across Missouri to empower Missouri students to go to col-lege and succeed. Patrick will be assigned to a high school in Raytown, MO for two years. Looks as if we’ll be keeping the California kid in the Midwest for a cou-ple of more years!

Zach Hurst (Jamie Hurst, grandson of Jim & Sandy Hurst, great-grandson of Mary & Benton Hurst) graduates from Columbia high school this year. Proud Grandmother, Sandy, reports Zach is an honor roll stu-dent and will be leaving for the Marines sometime before September 1, depending on the job field he selects. Based on his scoring the highest on the aptitudes for jobs, he can pretty much choose whatever field he wants. His family is very proud and happy for the positive path Zach has chosen and his ability to rise to any challenge. It looks as if there is a bright future for this young man. (See page 7….do see a resemblance?)

(Editor’s note: For the first time in many years, I’ll be bringing both my kids, one daughter-in-law, and all five of my grandkids! We are really excited about this year’s picnic and hope to see you all there).

The Stewart Family Bulletin Page 2 of 8

Benton Akin Hurst: May 3, 1920-December 15, 2014 My Dad, Benton Hurst, passed away on December 15, 2014 at the glorious age of 94. During the past 5 years, his "rusty" heart valve contributed to con-gestive heart failure result-ing in some hospital stays. During the past year, the CHF episodes began to increase in frequency until he just could not recover one more time. I miss him terribly but I was happy to see him retain his sense of humor and laid back out-look on life until the end. I

admire him for accomplishing the most that anyone can do: live your life the way you want to and die the way you want to. His last few hours were spent in his re-cliner surrounded by family in his own home. Until a week before Thanksgiving, Mom & Dad were still eating out every night at their favorite restaurants where he enjoyed his Bud Light draft beer with dinner. Dad was born on a cotton farm in New Madrid MO on May 3, 1920 to Lawrence and Catherine (Schellenberger) Hurst. He remembered having to flee to higher ground during a devastating flood when he was a young child. His younger sister Alice had an ear infection so their family was allowed to take refuge in-side a church building instead of having to camp out-side. At age 7 or so, he had a serious childhood illness that left him deaf in one ear. About that some time, his Grandpa Schellenberger as-sumed a new position as a magistrate judge in Bonne Terre, so the whole family moved with him...thus begins Dad's life in Bonne Terre where his new class mates teased him about his southern accent. He quickly learned that "y'all" was not acceptable...the correct word was "y'ouns". (Not sure how to spell that.) As the old-est of 11 children, he had to earn money to help support his family as soon as he was big enough to bag grocer-ies and do other odd jobs at a local drug store. This was before child labor laws kicked in. Maybe his long work life was a bit too long and that's why enjoyed sit-ting on the patio to "watch the grass grow"...it must have been an empowering past time. He served in the US Army during World War II as a dental technician. He would make false teeth and molds for rebuilding missing jawbones and other

damaged pieces of the soldiers who had been at war and had suffered massive facial injuries. The work in-spired him to become a dentist so after the war, he at-tended Flat River Jr College to get his education under way. My Mom was attending FRJC at the same time so it seemed the time was right for starting a life long rela-tionship. Mom & Dad were married by Grandpa Stewart at the Bonne Terre Methodist Church on November 27, 1946. They lived in Grandpa Schellenberger's home until they moved to St. Louis so that Dad could attend Washington University and get on with his career. One of his litera-ture professors was author William Inge. I am still searching for the American literature book that William Inge signed for Dad...I know it exists because I have seen it among the many books that Mom & Dad accumu-lated over the years. Alas, the career plans in dentistry were foiled by my arrival in 1948. Instead of a dentist, Dad enjoyed a long career as a chemist. His last job was a lab supervisor in the industrial waste division of Metropolitan St Louis Sewer District. His lab's job was to analyze samples of waste water collected from various rivers. They had to figure out what the pollutants were and how to get rid of them so that MSD could fine the offending companies accordingly. Dad's favorite days of the year were Groundhog's Day, because spring is around the corner, and the winter sol-stice, because the days start to get longer again. He loved old style country music classics like "He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones. Hee Haw was one of his all time favorite TV shows in its heyday. My brother Jim found and recorded all of the old Hee Haw episodes for Dad to watch on TV. That was one of the best gifts he had ever gotten. Dad is now buried at Jefferson Barracks National Ceme-tery not too far from where Clark & Jean Stewart are bur-ied. This is comforting to me because the Stewart, Hurst and Cloud families spent so many great times at the Bar-racks during the 1950s...long before the cemetery took over everything. It's good to know that some of the old gang will rest peacefully in a place that had so many happy memories. Yep, Dad lived and died just the way he wanted to.

Written by Sue Hurst


Jean Anne Scates Stewart: March 8, 1925-February 9, 2015

Written by Belinda Lower

Jean Anne Scates Stewart, 89, of Columbia, MO passed away after a very short illness. She was born in St. Louis, MO to Herbert O. Scates and Claire A. Kassel Scates. Jean grew up on a farm in Jackson, MO. She played the saxophone in the high school band and is credited with writing the Jackson High School pep song. In 1940, Jean was one of the girls selected to attend the first Missouri Girls’ State leadership council in Fulton, MO. Out of high school, Jean worked for the Telephone Company in Jackson. A promotion took her to Bonne Terre, MO where she met a returning veteran of WWII, Clark E. Stewart, who would be her husband of 63 years. After a very brief courtship, Clark and Jean were married on August 10, 1946 in a service offici-ated by Clark’s father, the Reverend William Stewart. Clark’s career with the Veteran’s Administrative Hospital took Jean and her family to St. Louis, MO, Madison, WI, Topeka, KS and to Columbia, MO, where Jean lived since 1976. A committed stay-at-home Mom for most of her married life, in 1981 Jean began a new career working at the State Farm of-fice of Greg Hill in Columbia, MO, where she remained until her retirement at age 65. Jean was an avid bridge player, loved a party, had a quick wit, a won-derful sense of humor, and enjoyed a good glass of red wine.

Mom’s illness came on quickly, or so we thought. What we thought were signs of dementia and heart issues were really only outward symptoms of a bigger issue. Mid-October 2014, we noticed a big change in Mom. She was hav-ing trouble staying awake and just wasn’t on top of things like she usually was. After spending time in Kansas City over the Christmas holidays, we knew something was terribly wrong. Mom was admitted to the hospital in Columbia on January 1. The doctors could not figure out the root cause but did determine she was having trouble with her oxy-gen and CO2 exchange. After a 10 day hospitalization, she was discharged with home health, oxygen, and a BiPap machine. We found a wonderful assisted living place for her and she moved in the latter part of January. After three days, she was back in the hospital due to breathing issues again. She ended up in the Kansas City area as it was clear she wasn’t able to do assisted living and Salle and I wanted her closer to us. The good news was the doctors in Kansas City were able to identify the cause of Mom’s issues; the bad news was it was due to metastatic cancer in her lungs and there was nothing that could be done to get her back in good health.

Mom’s last days were just as she wanted them. She was never alone, she was well cared for, and she did whatever she wanted to do. She had a much welcomed bubble bath, she sang with the aides, had BBQ as a family, and even snuck some red wine in one evening! My only regret is that she didn’t make it to her 90th birthday. She was so look-ing forward to a really big party! (She always loved a party and wasn’t shy about being the center of attention).

I’m sure it is no surprise to anyone in the family that Mom deeply loved the Stewart’s. Before even meeting Dad, she became a sister to Mary and loved all the brothers and sisters that came with her. Falling in love with the brother who returned from the war was like winning a lottery to her (and it didn’t hurt that he was pretty darn handsome and a very nice person). That closeness to the Stewart family continued throughout her life. I can’t recall any activity or gather-ing during my early childhood that did not include aunts, uncles, and cousins. Picnics in the park, camping, Thanks-givings, hanging out at Mary’s house on Vermont. I think family, immediate and extended, was the most important thing to Mom.

Dad used to talk about how amazed he was that even as the family grew to be so large, she continually kept track of each and every member of the family. Trust me, she knew every person’s name, who your kids are, the name of your kids, and what you and they are up to in life. I loved to watch her work the room at family gatherings. She rarely missed talking to every person there. She did it because she cared. You all were so very important to her. It is sure hard to lose a lady like this one. She was always the life of the party and made everyone feel welcomed and cher-ished.


the paramedics when she balked at being moved. This time, she had broken her left hip. Thus began our journey through uncertainty, where every event required us to make decisions concerning things that we knew nothing about. Our family has always been healthy except for Dad's rusty heart valve, which hadn't been fatal yet. Fortunately, the Stewart family is blessed with health care workers that came to the rescue. On the day that Mom came home from the hospital with her new hip (after a failed attempt to go to a rehab center) I found several cousins waiting at Mom & Dad's house for us to get home with Mom. Mary Evelyn told me exactly what to do and who to call. Kate explained to me how things really work in the health care system. My health care education had only begun. While we were all focused on Mom's new situation, Dad suddenly took a turn for the worst a couple of weeks later and died. My niece Shelley guided us through that latest round of decisions concerning things we knew nothing about. After Dad died, Mom decided that maybe she should try rehab after all then go to an assisted living place. Rehab did not work out well so she left after less than 2 weeks. For the month of January, she lived in a 24 hour nursing facility that she liked but was a little too slow moving. She was bored and asked to come live with Dominick and I. Of course, we were delighted to have Mom live with us but we all had to adjust to the "new normal" which included having caregivers in the house. She finally embraced the walker. She had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease about a year earlier but so far, we had only observed trem-ors in her hands and feet. We did not know that it may have been a contributing factor in her falls. She now takes medicine for Parkinson's which helps her motor skills enough that she can eat easily and walk better. Even her voice is a little stronger. However, getting her balance is still allusive. Once she's up and standing in her walker, she can walk but needs a spotter and needs assistance with getting up and sitting down. Now her stubborn streak is focused on trying to get up by herself without letting any-one know. As a result, she has fallen at least 3 more times, one of which required the replacement of her right hip and another that fractured her right thigh bone. We now have caregivers in the house 24 hours a day. It took us a while to figure out what we really needed but much of the uncertainty is giving way to knowing what to expect. Mom is happy in her chair in front of the fireplace, which typically burns every day...even if the air condition-ing is on. She loves sitting in the sun on the deck also. She has a message to share with our extended Stewart family, "I appreciate all of the care and concern from everyone and I look forward to being able to walk again". I look forward to your walking again, too, Mom.

About 6 months ago, my Mom, Mary Hurst, fell off her smooth sailing ship of life into the sea of uncer-tainty. The Sunday before Thanksgiving, my Dad called me (he rarely called on the phone or answered one) and said that he was worried about Mom because she couldn't get up from the couch. My brother Jim and I went over to the house to figure out what was happening. Mom mentioned that she had fallen a day or so ago after getting out of the tub...maybe she in-jured something that affected her ability to stand up. We knew she had fallen at least 2 other times in the past few months and needed help getting up each time. In fact, we had insisted on her wearing her alert button from Bay Alarm but she didn't think she needed it. She suffers from the cursed Stewart stubbornness streak. Jim's grandson Alex finally got her to wear it by checking for the "gold string" around her neck every time he saw her. Mom & Dad ended up staying with us that Sunday night as a precaution. Mom could still walk but getting up and down were difficult. They in-sisted on going back home the next day. A couple of days later at 2:00am, I was awakened by a call from Bay Alarm. Mom had fallen and the para-medics were at the house. Thank goodness she pressed the button! The rescue worked as planned. After a few hours in the emergency room, we learned that she had not broken her hip and could go home. She then stated that she was now a believer in the alert button and would gladly wear it from then on. The ER doctor pleaded with her to use a walker so she wouldn't fall again but the stubborn streak had shifted focus from the alarm button to the walker. Dominick and I had even gotten a walker for her but she wouldn't use it. Mom & Dad spent the rest of the week at my house but they were anxious to go home. Thanksgiving was rapidly approaching so things worked out well after all. Jean Stewart stayed at my house with Mom & Dad over the Thanksgiving holi-day. Mom and Aunt Jean sat in their easy chairs in front of the fireplace most of the time with the rest of us partying around them (per Jean's party training). I'm so glad we all had the extra time to be together since we lost Dad 2 weeks later and we lost Aunt Jean in February. On Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, Mom & Dad went back home after the Stewart clan headed west for their own homes. About dinner time, I got a call from Dad. Mom had fallen while getting up from the kitchen table and he couldn't get her up but he didn't think she was seriously hurt. I called Jim to go over and assess the situation. He ended up calling

The Unsinkable Mary HurstWritten by Sue Hurst

Martha Stewart DeClue Family

Rebecca Sarah Vossmeyer (daughter of Celeste & John Vossmeyer, granddaughter of Kate Schejbal) com-pletes her first year of St. Louis University Law School this May. She will be interning at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Missouri this summer.

Celeste Vossmeyer (daughter of Kate Schejbal) will be teaching Professional Responsibility at St. Louis Univer-sity Law School during the 2015-2016 year as an adjunct professor. Celeste is also pursuing a PhD in Liberal Arts at Washington University with an emphasis in American Culture Studies.

Sue Wilke (Martha & Ted DeClue) reports: Wilkes and Fitzwaters headed to New Orleans this March to enjoy some good food, good music, and a drink or two along the way. Our highlight beyond these pleasures was a morning spent at the WWII Museum: not nearly long enough, so I guess we'll have to go back.

Kate Schejbal (Martha & Ted DeClue) reports: Between Christmas and New Year's a group of our family flew to Puerto Vallarta, then drove an hour through the rain forest to reach the town of Sayulita, where we had accommo-dations in a beautiful setting, with a very large patio and central kitchen. Attending were Celeste (our organizer) John, Becca, John's kids, Luke, (Rachel), Adam (Lily) baby Henry, Abby, Di and Tom Kahl and Kate. Beach activi-ties, long naps, swimming in our beautiful pool, and dinners by Mexican cooks (Celeste), games, reading, sunning and even a joint Yoga class. (Baby Henry loved having all of us on the floor with him).

Cliff Stewart Family

Allen Lawless, husband of Margaret Lawless (daughter of Cliff Stewart) has accepted the position of Quality Manager at PharMEDium Healthcare in Cleveland, Mississippi. He will begin his duties on May 11th and Margaret will join him when the school year ends. Margaret is retiring as the Orchestra Director at Hickman High School and West Middle School at the end of this year. Her final concert will be on May 6th and will feature 5 orchestras and 130 string players from both schools. Her retirement plans include walking dogs, practicing and going to bed AFTER 7:30 p.m

Mike Stewart (Cliff & Evelyn) was awarded “President’s Club” at Zurich again so Mike & Nancy were treated to four days at the Grand Del Mar Resort in San Diego. They went whale watching together aboard “The America”, Nancy took a “behind the scenes” tour of the San Diego Zoo and Mike played Torrey Pines. They both ate too much but agreed San Diego was a beautiful place worth returning to.

Aaron & Nicole Stewart (son of Mike & Nancy Stewart) bought a house and have settled in Springfield, OR and are expecting their first baby May 23rd. The doctor is saying the baby will be here by the due date so Mike & Nancy will be traveling to Oregon in the very near future.

Nancy continues with her blog posting weekly (most of the time) commenting on whatever is on her mind that week. Mike continues to travel a lot leaving Nancy & Capone to hold down the fort. Having two grandkids within walking distance is a rare treat and we enjoy seeing them on a regular basis watching them develop, grow and


Notes ‘N News

Ken & Sue Wilke / Donna & Fitz Fitzwater


Notes ‘N News, continued John Stewart Family Val and Phil Vogler (John & Dorothy) are enjoying semi-retirement in Fort Collins, CO. Phil still does some carpentry, help-ing a small business when they need his expertise. Val is working, as needed, for the community college, tutoring nursing students. Val reports they usually have the late spring and summer totally free for their gardening, chickens, beekeeping, and camp-ing/fishing/hiking adventures in Colorado and Wyoming.

Jody (daughter of Val & Phil) finished her PhD in Forest Ecosys-tems in December. Yay! She is staying in Corvallis, Oregon doing post-doctorate research. Val and Phil love visiting her there and she also makes it to Colorado a couple of times a year.

Josh (son of Val & Phil) is in Fort Collins. Along with working for a brewery and merchandising jobs, he is starting a mushroom culti-vation operation on the family property.

Val says they have been fortunate to spend time with their “Wyoming” Stewart family since they have moved west. Lisa, Jim, and Dave came down to Fort Collins last month and Val and Phil made it up to Casper for a return visit a few weeks ago. Val says, “Dave doesn’t care much for being photographed but I love his smile! We always have a great visit and enjoy our time together”.

Dave Stewart, Val Vogler, and Josh Vogler—April 2015

Raggedy Andy & Raggedy Ann….made by the loving hands of our Grandmother, Mabel Porter Stewart. These were a Christmas present one year for the Clark Stewart girls. I’m sure there were a lot of these dolls made and presented to Stewart grandchildren over the years. I recall sock monkeys also but no longer have one. I’m wondering how many of these treasures are still around. It also makes me wonder how on earth Grandma found the time to be so creative. All you Stewart grandkids who have dolls/monkeys/dogs, etc. made by our Grandmother, send in a picture and we’ll do a gallery in the next newsletter.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Mary Stewart Hurst Family Shelley Hurst Monheiser (daughter of Jim & Sandy Hurst, granddaughter of Mary & Benton Hurst) has ac-cepted a new position as vice president for the Schumacher Group in St. Louis. This organization staffs all the doctors in the SSM hospital emergency rooms. Shelley is the manager of that project and is in charge of their nine locations. Mom reports it is a stressful job but that Shelley is an amazing lady and a self-made success.

This year, 2015, marks 150 years since the end of the Civil War. Our ancestors, both Stewart and Foard, were committed to the Confederate cause. Our great grandfather, Andrew Jackson Stewart, was but 14 when the Civil War broke out, and “misrepresented” his age in order to join a Confederate unit. He fell off a horse and broke a couple of limbs and was sent home. Three of his brothers were more successful in their military careers.

John Wesley Stewart, born 1834, and also a son of Zebulon Stewart, was a Second Lieutenant in Company F, First Regiment Infantry of the Kentucky Volunteers, C.S.A. Ephraim Bush Stewart, born 1842, also served in Company F, First Regiment Infantry, Kentucky Volunteers, C.S.A.

James Henry Stewart, born 1834, served in Company H, 16th Regiment, Texas Cavalry, C.S.A. He was wounded in the thigh at the battle of Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana, Vicksburg Campaign, on June 7, 1863. This

injury caused his blindness.


Family Historian, Mary Stewart MacKenzie

Our Civil War Ancestors

“Echoes From The Past” tells of an article and letter written by John Wesley Stewart in 1861 at Harper’s Ferry, Vir-ginia during the Civil War. J.W. Stewart was an uncle of William Stewart.

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, in the transference to our elec-tronic newsletter, part of this article continues to be cut off. If you’d like the full version, you can find it on our Facebook page or can email the Editor or Family Historian for a copy.

Ephraim Bush Stewart Brother of Andrew Jackson Stewart

Ephraim was born in 1842 and joined the Confederate Army in 1861 He survived the war, married and had at least two children, one of whom became a physician in Union

County, Kentucky.


Gabriel T. Foard Recalled Civil War Written by Manning Stewart

From 1906 to 1908, my father, Andrew Jackson Stewart, resided at Eddyville, Ky., where he was a guard in the Western Branch of the State Penitentiary. About 1907, my grandfa-ther, Gabriel T. Foard, resided with us for a while. He was then about 84 years old and was fond of talking of the past. I remember hearing him say that he was born in North Caro-lina and that he moved

with his parents to Christian County, Ky., when he was about 6 years old (about 1830). My mother, Susan Ann Foard, was born in Christian County, Ky., near Bennettstown, in 1856. My grandfa-ther recalled the “falling of the stars” (meteors) in 1832 when he was 8 years old. Grandfather and his wife and family moved to Graves County, Ky., before the Civil War, probably about 1860 or 1861, as I heard my mother say she distinctly remembered incidents of the Civil War and that she was about 5 at the time. Grand-father Foard stated that one spring during the Civil War the Federals took him prisoner, although he was a civil-ian. (He was, however, a Southern sympathizer.) They took him to Mayfield and compelled him to work on the fort being constructed there at the time. As a result, he lost the crop he had planted. He was later released and returned to his home at Clear Springs. I think the fort referred to were trenches or earthworks which the Fed-erals who occupied Mayfield at the time threw up around the town. On another occasion, Grandfather Gabriel T. Foard told of Federals (regulars or guerrillas) going to the home of his son, John, who was a hardworking, quiet man living alone, and demanding money. When he told them there was no money on the place except the few dollars he had in his pockets, they proceeded to search the house, barn, stables and other buildings on the place. John remained quietly in bed during the visit. A squad was left in the house to guard him while the other mem-bers of the party went out to search the premises. They pulled up a loose plank in the floor of the house and

tested every loose-looking brick in the fireplace, chim-ney and hearth. When they completed their search, the soldiers again assembled in the room, told my uncle they hadn’t found any valuables but that they were sure he had a large sum of cash on the place and demanded that he produce it. If he refused, they told him they would hang him. In fact, they tied a rope around his neck while he was still in bed and again demanded that he tell them where the money was hidden.

“You have searched the place,” he replied. “The money I have in the house is in my pockets. I have not tried to conceal it, and you may take it.” Finally convinced that they could not make him reveal the hiding place of his money by threats of death, they removed the rope from his neck, took the money from his pockets and de-parted. The next morning John removed the money in gold and silver coins and currency from a hollow tree near his home, where he had concealed it a few days before. Hearing the guerrillas were in the neighborhood and expecting their visit, he had taken this timely pre-caution. He did not dare leave home, fearing they would burn his home and farm buildings. He provided the pocket money so they wouldn’t kill or injure him or his property out of revenge and disappointment at not taking any plunder.

Manning Stewart, 1922

My grandfather’s full name was Gabriel Thomas Foard, but he was familiarly known as Tom. Tom had a brother, Robert, living near him, who was as ardent a Northern sympathizer as Tom was a Southern advo-cate. Knowing of this difference of opinion, the Federal soldiers on one occasion compelled Robert to take his wagon and team, go to his brother Tom’s corn crib and haul away for the Federal Army a wagon load of Tom’s corn. Although this act was done reluctantly and under compulsion at the point of bayonets and guns, Tom Foard never quite forgave his brother, Robert, for his involuntary act. I am not sure, but I don’t think they ever spoke or had anything to do with each other after the unfortunate occasion.

Stewart-Porter Website Our website will be rather

bare bones for a while...we need to overcome zero miles

an hour. We have great plans for it but in the interim, want to continue to get the

newsletter published.

Follow us on FACEBOOK, under the STEWART FAM-ILY group. If you have trou-

ble finding us, send me a note and I’ll try to help.

[email protected]

EMAIL ADDRESSES

If you did not receive the email blast requesting

news to put in the newslet-ter and your email address with Sue Hurst is current, you might want to create a STEWART folder in your email box. This may pre-

vent future emails from go-ing to SPAM.

We’ll soon be on the Web!

See us at:

www.stewartporter.com

Documents

Volume 23 Issue 1 May 2015 The Stewart Family Bulletin