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Saturday, May 28

11:30 AM Marti & David Bates’ House

Please mark your calendars to join the family for a pot luck lunch on Saturday, May 28 at Marti & David Bates’ house in Sunset Hills.

(See email blast for the exact address). We’ll be gathering at 11:30 am; lunch will be served at Noon.

Bring the kids, your drinks, tableware, food to share, swim suits, towels, lawn chairs and enjoy the Bates’ pool! Last year was such fun, you really

don’t want to miss it.

IN CASE OF RAIN: Should the unpredictable Missouri weather decide not to cooperate with our festivities, we will move the venue to PJ’s in

Kirkwood, MO.

* * * * * * * * * *

The Stewart Family Bulletin Lucille * Paul * Jess * Olive * Martha * John * Clifford * Clark * Mary * Joe * David

Election Year

Reverend Stewart had some sage advice that seems appropriate during these politically charged times.

An excerpt from Mindful of Man where he talked about politics:

“Perhaps one of the reasons divergent views on many subjects have arisen in our family is that Mabel and I, ourselves, often differ in our opinions but have managed to get along and respect each other’s convictions. For instance, Mabel has always been a Republican and I have always been a Democrat. Occasionally we have crossed party lines and agreed we would support an outstandingly good man, such as our friend Russell Dearmont of Cape Girardeau when he was running for governor. We both realize that neither party has a monopoly on vice or virtue”.

The Stewart clan Fall gathering in Bonne Terre, MO October 24, 2016

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Notes ‘ News

David Stewart Family

David Stewart fell at home in April and broke his leg. According to reports, he is on the mend.

Cliff Stewart Family

Mike & Nancy Stewart reports: We started the year with a sold house planning to close on 2/28 and move to Florida. As we all know, a closing isn't closed till you have the keys and walk through the door. The deal fell through and we decided to become a two home couple allowing us to stay close to two out of three grandchildren. It wasn't until 4/30 we finally left to move our belongings to the Florida home and get set up for for living there half the year in 2017.

Because our Florida house wasn't done, we decided to visit Aaron & Nicole in Oregon in March. Aaron wanted to go skiing with his dad but Nancy nixed that idea not wanting Mike to miss President's Club in Miami later in March because he was on crutches. We compromised and took little Emaline sledding. Mike still missed President's Club because Nancy suffered a spinal compression fracture while sledding. She is in her beloved back brace till the end of May.

Aaron & Nicole will be back for a visit in early June to (post) celebrate Emaline's first birthday, May 25. This will be Emaline's third time to fly.

Joe & Marie will send Colton to Kindergarten in August while Alexandra will most likely plead to go along. She delights in disturbing Colton's well ordered world with her chaos, just as little sisters should. Marie can't remember what she did with all her time before she had children. Her mother tells her God erases those memories so mothers won't hate their children. 

Rebekah Hardin (daughter of John Hardin, granddaughter of Mary Stewart MacKenzie) will being going to Costa Rica this summer as part of a school trip.

Remembrance from Bill Stewart

This was told to me several years ago by my barber in Farmington who knew Grandfather Stewart: One of his golfing companions once remarked to him that it was admirable that he was able to refrain from cussing when hitting a bad shot. Grandfather replied: "Yes, but have you ever noticed the grass where I spit!"

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Notes ‘ News, continued

Jess Stewart Family

Grand Canyon Hikers Bill Stewart, his son Matt Stewart, his daughter Sara Taylor, and his nephew Brian Moriarty (son of Jeanne Stewart Daniels) spent a week camping and hiking at the Grand Canyon in March. During that time they took several challenging hikes into the canyon. They hiked the Hermit trail to Santa Maria Spring, the Grandview trail to Horseshoe Mesa, and, over a 3 day period, backpacked to Bright Angel campground at the river and back up to the south rim. The hikers spent several months getting their gear together and training for the strenuous hiking. Sara, the youngest and most fit and most used to the altitude, led the way most of the time, joined by Brian, while Matt hung back and kept a watchful eye on his old man. It’s a commonly expressed opinion that pictures can’t capture views and sensations adequately, and this is certainly true in the canyon. It was a wonderful experience.

Mike and Belinda Lower have been doing some traveling. In late September they checked off one of the items on Belinda’s bucket list and visited Maine. The goal was to eat so much lobster she never wanted it again. The goal was not met, though through lack of effort, but she left Maine a very happy girl and remains a big fan of Maine.

In February, Mike and Belinda attended a destination wedding in Cartagena (Columbia, South America). Though never on their radar for places to go, both loved the adventure. The wedding was stunning, the city old and beautiful, and the food incredible.

Beth Herreid enjoyed a trip to Nashville and Charleston, SC with Peter & Liz Herreid in February. The trip also included a visit to Congaree National Park south of Charleston, and according to Liz, the most boring national park in the 100-year-old system.

Clark Stewart Family

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Notes ‘ News, continued

Martha Stewart DeClue Family

Sue Wilke reports: The good news is the Wilkes met their insurance deductible barely 63 days into 2016.  Ken had shoulder surgery on January 7 to ease  extreme arthritic pain.  The surgery involved a shoulder reversal, switching the ball and socket from their normal positions.  It worked so well that he had the other shoulder done on April 14.  He's much happier with two matching scars and only post-op pain to handle.  

I had another cardiac cath done on March 2, and am now the proud owner of 5 stents. Now doing cardiac rehab at Farmington and trying to remain heart healthy. 

As most retired people, we marvel at how little free time we seem to have. I've gotten back into some City business this past year with a resurrection of the renovation of the old Bonne Terre school property. The project remained at a stand-still for over 10 years, but was restarted last fall and is now nearing completion.  It's been a wonderful opportunity to be part of this vision we had so many years ago. We also remain involved in Church doings, Ken with the landscaping and me on the group preparing to welcome a new pastor in June.  Then on Friday, we don our Mimi and Papa hats and hit the road to St. Louis for a day with Miriam and Jonah, as well visiting with our girls and their respective Daves when they are available.   

My family threw me a whale of a 70th B-Day party in March.  Immediate family and friends--about 60 in all--gathered to send me off into that group referred to as "The Elderly."   As the last of five children, I've managed to see myself as young for quite some time, but I now must admit that that ship has sailed and I'm off into the calm, deep end of the journey.  Not so bad. Looking forward to being with you all. 

The Marti & David Bates family headed to the western Caribbean for a week-long Disney cruise in April. Marti reports, “We had a great time with lots of princesses and Mickeys. The kids loved the beaches and all of the boat activities. We saw movies, Tangled the musical, and enjoyed good food. Time away from wifi made it even more enjoyable!”

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The indomitable Mary Hurst passed away on February 7, 2016, at the age of 90 years, 8 months and 7 days from head injuries suffered in a fall. Had she not fallen, she most certainly would be cheering on the St Louis Cardinals right now. Two weeks before the fall, she told me that spring training would be starting in a couple of weeks and was looking forward to watching the Cards play on TV. I miss her so much

Growing up with 7 brothers, 5 of whom were within 10 years of her age, influenced her tendency to be a bit of a tomboy not unfamiliar with mischief.

She was drawn to sports and wanted to be a gym teacher until she flunked a gym class in high school. I suspect the mischievousness had some to do with that. Fortunately, she had many talents to draw from and simply moved on to become a classroom teacher.   From 1945-1946, she taught grades 1 – 8 in a 2-room school in East Bonne Terre after graduating from Flat River Jr College (nka Mineral Area College) in 1945. It was at FRJC that she and my Dad started dating. World War II had just ended so Dad resumed his non-military life by going to college. The rest is history...family history, that is.

Some time during the late 1960s, Uncle Joe introduced Mom to handwriting analysis on one of his visits from Wyoming. She was hooked. In a few years, she had become a master grapho-analyst and an active member of IGAS (International Grapho-Analysis Society). She traveled to out of town conventions, published articles, taught classes and used handwriting analysis in her work as a guidance counselor. Family Circle published her article entitled “How to Read Your Child From His Handwriting” in the January 8 1980 edition of the magazine.

Her actions always spoke louder than her words. Her life was full of activity. She was the do-er, the organizer, the writer, the editor...the Committee. It’s no wonder she was so frustrated when Parkinson’s disease robbed her of her physical coordination and balance. During her last 2 and half years of life, she reluctantly stopped fixing Sunday dinner for our family, stopped producing The Stewart Family Bulletin, stopped organizing Thanksgiving dinners and stopped going to her favorite social gatherings. Mentally, she was still on top. In fact, she was a favorite among the 24-hour caregivers that stayed with us because she could analyze their handwriting and talk about interesting things.

The awesome Mary Hurst touched the lives of many family members, friends, students and people she reached through her writing. She still is a guiding force in my life. Many times, she rose to an occasion to show me how it’s done. She left a legacy of actionable examples of successes and a few failures, all of which defined her life. Her passing left a giant void in my day to day life but I will always feel like she’s here if I need her. You’re awesome, Mom!

The Awesome Mary Hurst

May 21, 1925 - February 7, 2016

Mary was one of the original generation that we used as a baseline for our generation numbers on our name tags at family reunions. She was number 9 of William & Mabel’s 11 children who grew to adulthood. Her name tag looked like this:

Mary 9

Written by, Sue Hurst

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Graham G. MacKenzie: American Citizen

Graham G. MacKenzie, passed away on December 23, 2015 after a brief illness.

Mary recalls that one of Graham MacKenzie's proudest moments happened November 22, 2002, the day he became an American citizen.  He came to this country in 1995 and married Mary Stewart MacKenzie in 1996.  He was born in London, England and worked as an electrician there and also in St. Louis. 

In his younger days he enjoyed playing rugby, was a bouncer in a local club on weekends, a drummer in a local band, and later a crew chief for a racing car.  Hobbies were model railways and gun collecting. 

Andrew (Drew) Thomas, son of Margaret Stewart Lawless (Cliff), directed and produced a feature film, “Frame Switch”. It premiered March 17 of this year in Austin, TX. The premiere seemed to be a hit with the audience of around 200. The attention his team have received so far puts them in a good position to start entering film festivals around the world. Their ultimate goal is to strike a worldwide distribution deal so they can continue to make bigger and better movies!

“Frame Switch” took over 3 years to make and involved hundreds of cast and crew. It’s a found-footage thriller told from the perspective of cell phones, webcams, surveillance video, news reports, traffic cameras, drones, and more. The story surrounds a group of corrupt city officials who are murdering citizens as a front for an international crime organization, and is loosely based on some real events in Texas.

The trailer for Frame Switch can be viewed on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/1qGmD-UAyp4 . Also please “Like” them on Facebook! Just search for “Frame Switch.”

Drew reports they are also discussing the possibility of having a St. Louis screening, whether at a film festival or at a rented theater. If that happens, he will certainly keep everyone in the loop. In the meantime he has been offered to direct a horror movie in New Mexico later this year. So hopefully he will have even more good news for us soon!

Lights, Cameras, ACTION!

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Congratulations to Our Graduates

Madison Meyer, daughter of Suzy & Mark Meyer, granddaughter of Donna & Damon Fitzwater (Martha), will graduate from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound. She will return to Columbia in the Fall to continue her studies and get her Masters degree.  Parents and grandparents are all so proud of her!!!

Congratulations to Emma & Caroline Fitzwater, daughters of Doug Fitzwater, granddaughters of Donna & Fitz Fitzwater (Martha).

Emma is graduating from Southeast Mo. State University with a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Health Promotion She was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi graduating with honors. She will start work for a Masters degree in Mental Health Counseling.

Caroline is graduating from Caruthersville High School. She was awarded the ANC scholarship , the MSU Academic Excellence Scholarship, and the PEO Sholarship. She will be attending Mississippi State University

Jackson Stewart (son of Andy & Ninnette Stewart, grandson of Clark & Jean Stewart) is graduating with honors in June from Calabasas High School. He will attending University of California Berkeley in the Fall. Interesting fact: Jackson is the youngest grandchild of Clark & Jean and his father is the youngest grandchild of William & Mabel.

Tara Crites-Olson, daughter of Carol Stewart Crites (Jess), completed her student teaching and will graduate from Southwest Missouri State University on May 13 with a bachelor's degree in education. Tara lives in Springfield with her three daughters.

Madeleine Herreid, granddaughter of the late David Herreid & Beth Herein (Jess) graduates with honors May 7 from Belmont University in Nashville.  Her degree is BA in Entertainment Industry Studies with minor in video production. Beth will attend graduation activities Mother's Day weekend.  And Maddie did it in four years, which makes her parents, Peter and Liz, very happy!

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