Volume 22, Issue 2

November 2014

Stewart Family Bulletin The

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

Mark your calendars! Thursday, November 27, 2014 at the Bonne Terre Methodist Church

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

The family picture will be taken at 11:30 AM!

Please look for the menu items and assignments on PAGE 8.

A Message from Jean. . . Thanksgiving day is nearly here. It is a day that continues to give me such pleasure. When I walk into the church and see the bustling of many hands in the kitchen, the setting up of the beverages, the con-structing of Mother’s waldorf salad, the placement of the tables, and the children playing, it fills my heart with joy.

As the family tree grows its many branches, I know it becomes more and more difficult to arrange schedules and multiple family obliga-tions to attend the extended Stewart family Thanksgiving dinner. You are definitely missed when you are not with us. The Reverend Stewart said, “...not all the pleasures of Thanksgiving in our house are gastronomic. It is a time for talk, for exchanging news of each family unit, and for discussing the larger issues of politics, war and social and economic trends”.

I hope to see you on Thanksgiving and hear all about what is going on in your life!

Love to each and every one of you,

Jean

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“As I lose my Dad, so the world loses an amazing per-son, musician, teacher, com-poser, author”.

— David Michael Thomas

T. Donley Thomas: June 21, 1929-Sept 25, 2014

The Stewart clan has lost another precious family member. T. Donley Thomas passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in Jackson, TN on September 25th. He was 85. Thomas Donley Thomas was born to William Hugh Thomas and Ruth Lone Donley in Detroit, MI on June 21st, 1929. He studied music during high school and upon graduating with honors was accepted to the East-man Conservatory of Music in Rochester, New York. He subsequently joined the Army as a member of the armed services band corps, where he served with distinction during the Korean War and afterwards became the first American student to renew a Fulbright Scholarship, continuing his studies abroad in Vienna, Austria. After returning to the U.S., Thomas advanced his education at the Pea-body Conservatory in Nashville, TN, and took a position as cellist with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and recorded on various studio al-bums, including Wanderin' by West Tennessee native and friend, Eddy Arnold. Thomas went on to accept a teaching position at Southeast Missouri State University where he was a respected educator and performer for 31 years, retiring as Professor Emeritus of Music in 1989. During this time he married Margaret Ann Stewart of Bonne Terre, MO and with col-league Charles Sherman, collected, compiled, and indexed a complete catalog of the works of classical composer Michael Haydn (1737-1806), the younger sibling of Joseph Haydn, and this catalog remains the defini-tive compilation of Michael Haydn's Opi to this day. Even in retirement Thomas remained prolific, writing and editing numer-ous compositions and even making a foray into literature, riffing on Wil-liam Blake's "Milton" with an epic poem of his own, "Blake" while still finding time to play with orchestras in Jackson, TN, Paducah, KY, and Jonesboro, AR. He also taught private cello lessons, and was a member of the congregation at Aldersgate United Methodist Church. Thomas is survived by his three sons, David Michael, Evan Stuart, and Andrew Wil-liam Hugh, and one grandchild, Ian Mikail Thomas.

Rob Cloud (Bob & Fran Cloud) has been diagnosed with bladder cancer. He has just completed an extensive chemo treatment program. “No fun at all”, report his Mom & Dad. Rob dodged bullets for more than two years in the Middle East, retired, and now this. He is in good spirits and continues his part time job selling Chevrolets when he feels good. We all pray for his full recovery.

Rob’s family is really taking good care of him through his treatment phase. Wife, Shiela, made him a quilt. How she found time is something as she is now teaching kindergarten.

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When I began my family history research, one of my first undertakings was to discover as much as I could about Grandma Stewart’s father, William P. Porter. I grew up knowing that she was orphaned at a young age and raised by a paternal aunt, Mar-tha Adams, in Oxly, MO. The following sketch is what I have learned about her father. Unfortu-nately, we have no photograph of William P. Porter.

* * * * * * * *

Family History: William P. Porter Family Historian, Mary Stewart MacKenzie

William P. Porter was born April 20, 1851 in Perry county, Tennessee, the son of William C. Porter and Matilda Ledbetter Porter. Sometime after 1860 the family moved first to New Madrid County, MO, then settling in Ripley County, MO. At the close of the Civil War, his father, William C. Porter had been stripped of his personal property by the rebels and was left a poor man. About 1868, William C. moved his family to DeLas-sus in St. Francois County, MO., on the outskirts of Farmington. It was in DeLassus that William P., aged 20, met and married 15 year old Laura Brad-shaw, whose family had recently located in DeLas-sus from Columbia, IL. They were married on Sep-tember 17, 1871. William had been working as a stone mason to put himself through school. In 1874, William and Laura moved to Meridian, TX with his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Lewis H. and Margaret Josephine Bradshaw Coon. It was there that William P. began publication of the Bosque County Standard, an independent paper in politics.

Not liking Texas, he returned to Missouri and commenced the study of law under F.M. Carter. He was filling the office of Justice of the Peace when he was admitted to the bar in 1880. William P. moved to Dallas County, MO shortly after being admitted to the bar and worked as an attorney and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Dallas County when he was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1888. Unfortu-nately, he died of consumption (T.B.) before he could be sworn into office. William P. was the father of nine children: Nettie F., William W., Robert H., Lula B., Maude, Ellis Blaine, Mabel, Mollie, and William Plummer Porter, who was born a few months after his father’s death.

William Plummer “Blackie” Porter Born in 1889 and died in Utah. It was reported he got the nickname “Blackie” from working outside and usually hav-ing a dark tan. He was a house painter.

Mabel Porter Stewart Born January 7, 1886 in Buffalo, MO.

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News from the Kleppsattel Branch of the Family Tree Lucille (Stewart) and Alfred Kleppsattel had one child, William (Bill). Bill and his wife, Karen, had two daughters, Shelly and Sarah. It has been some time since we’ve heard from the Kleppsattel girls and we were so happy to hear from them recently. Shelly Shelly has been in Atlanta, GA for over 25 years. She has worked at the Atlanta version of the St Louis Fox theatre for those 25 years. Shelly says she has many memories of Lucille, the house on Diamond Head Drive, her chili and angel food cake (she STILL loves angel food cake) and even has memories of the great-grandparents when they lived in Farmington. Shelly reports that she has a lot of photos and movies taken by Alfred over the years. At some point, she plans to go through them and will share with the family. Sarah Since 1990, Sarah has been living in a beautiful part of Scotland, in Dum-fries and Galloway, and loves it. She likes that she has returned to the roots of the Stewart’s and the McCleod’s (maternal side).

Sarah turned 50 and says she is definitely not the scrawny kid we all might remember. Sarah is a gardener coordina-tor in a residential community where people live who are recovering from mental health problems. She says it is a wonderful job. She job shares and does bits and pieces of private gardening in addition to caring for someone with dementia. Sarah has one son, Ciaras (sounds like Kieran but with an “s” at the end). He just completed high school, with great accolades of achievement and played Bugsy in the school musical. He has begun a 5-year course in aerospace en-gineering at Manchester University. He is a lifeguard, loves soccer, and bulking out his wardrobe. Sarah reports her son is a good/cool/wonderful kid, though she wishes he’d do more dishes!

During the year 1963, the Stewart family added SIX babies to the family tree. Can you guess who they are? Only one was a grand-child of William and Mabel, the rest were great-grandchildren. Here they are (not in chronological order as the Editor only knows the birth date of one). 1. Andy Stewart (Clark Stewart) 2. Rob Cloud (Bob Cloud) 3. Doug Fitzwater (Donna DeClue Fitzwater) 4. Jim Eaton (Diane DeClue Eaton Williams) 5. Frankie Schejbal (Kate DeClue Schejbal) 6. Sarah Kleppsattle (Bill Kleppsattel)

Stewart Family Baby Boom : 1963

Martha Stewart DeClue Family

Ty Schejbal’s (Frankie & Beth Schejbal) band, “OLD STATE” newly released re-cording was rated as #1 in St. Louis and #16 in the nation as the best aggressive new music. Ty will travel to gigs in Texas, California, and Las Vegas in the new year. Ty is the drummer and sometimes singer for the band.

Sue Wilke (Martha & Ted DeClue) reports: September took us back to our begin-nings where we set up our first house--a two-man mountain tent--on a butte just out-side of Jackson, WY. Now, 41 years later we returned, this time with Krissy, Marti, their two Daves, and grandchildren, Jonah and Miriam. Instead of a tent, we kept a condo for five wonderful days. We toured the town, watched Old Faithful erupt, saw mud pots bubble, and held our breaths as buffalo and then elk took over the right of way on a two-lane road. It was great to be awakened before sunrise by Jonah whispering, "Mimi, can we go see the animals?" It was equally great to kiss our own girls good-night just like we used to do!

No trip to Wyoming is complete without a visit to Casper and what is always quality time with Uncle Dave. To-gether, we three visited Joe's grave. Dave picked the spot, which is close to the entrance to the cemetery. Joe picked the wording for the tombstone: "See you later." Two great guys.

Kristen Wilke, M.Ed, LPC, (Ken & Sue Wilke) has been named the Specialist for Academic Success at UMSL's newly es-tablished Gateway for Online and Adult Learners (GOAL). She previously served as an UMSL Career Counselor. Krissy knows her way around this campus quite well, having graduated Magna Cum Laude from here in 1999.

Cliff Stewart Family

Nancy Stewart grew weary of the editor of the paper trying to keep her at 500 words so she has set up a blog. You can find her writings at www.blondiebabble.com/home.html . It is important to use the entire address. Trying just blondiebabble.com will take you to all kinds of places. Mike and Nancy (Cliff & Evelyn Stewart) enjoyed a two week stay on “Nancy’s Island” in August and will be visiting Aaron and Nicole in November.

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Notes ‘N News

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Notes ‘N News, continued

Olive Stewart Cloud Family We won’t be seeing Bob and Fran (Olive & Robert Cloud) this year at Thanksgiving. They will be going to Geor-gia for a family turkey day.

Lisa Vernon (Bob & Fran Cloud) and husband Shelby have moved to Savanna, GA. as he retired from the Air Force after 26 years of service. The Air Force is a family tradition as Shelby’s father and uncle were also career Air Force. Shelby will continue his career with the Gulfstream Aircraft Company.

Scott Cloud (Bob & Fran Cloud) returned from Sydney, Australia in October after an 18-day cruise from Honolulu through the Pacific, including stops in Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji, and Auckland. Sadly, the trip concluded with a painful case of shingles. Ouch.

Justin Janes (son of Geoff & Laurie Cloud Janes) is completing a one year program of training with the Georgia Air National Guard at Wamer Robbins Air Force base. He will be assigned to a unit right in his home town. Daugh-ter Stephanie, started student teaching in special education. Son Robert, has completed paramedic training with the local fire department and is busy saving lives! Jess Stewart Family

Bill and Pat Stewart (Jess & Marie Stewart) celebrated the 50th anniversary of their marriage on the 23rd of Sep-tember. Earlier in the month they traveled to Alaska. They flew to Anchorage and took a train to Denali National Park, where they stayed for three days. They then boarded a 7-day cruise south to Vancouver through the Inside Passage.

Alex Herreid (Beth & David Herreid) graduated last spring from Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. He is now employed as a software developer for FIRST Robotics in Manchester, NH. (They are the organization that does the nation-wide robotics competitions for high school students).

Maddy Herreid (Beth & David Herreid) is a junior at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Maddy is studying sound and video and doing a good job of keeping herself on the dean’s list.

Maggy Blunt is enjoying first grade at Concord Elementary in Lindbergh and playing in her new neighbor-hood in Fenton, MO. John Stewart Family Val and Phil Vogler (John & Dorothy) are enjoying semi-retirement and taking "fun jobs" at this point. Val is tutor-ing nursing students at the local community college and Phil is doing carpentry work a few days a week. They ex-panded their vegetable garden again this summer, added a few chickens, and have accumulated several more bee hives. Several times a year, they still make it back to Missouri to visit Phil's mom and friends and enjoy a week at the cabin. Val feels fortunate that they are close enough to make occasional trips to Casper to visit with the Wyo-ming family. Before Uncle Joe passed away, they were able to have a brief visit with him in the skilled nursing unit on St. Patrick's Day. Val says Uncle David was a huge support for Uncle Joe, taking care of medical, personal, and household con-cerns when Joe was unable to do so. His daily hospital visits and checking on the house and passing on mail were only a portion of the tasks he handled. As most of you know, this is a stressful and exhausting job that demands patience, love, and a sense of humor. Luckily, David has an abundance of all of these. Val wishes she and Phil saw David, Lisa and Jim more often ...they are going to work on that this year!

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Additions to the Stewart Family Tree

ANNOUNCING 7.3.2.1 Aaron Stewart (son of Mike & Nancy Stewart) moved from Shawnee, KS to Medford, OR in June of 2014. Aaron and Nicole are enjoying exploring every weekend, camping and hiking in new areas. They are expecting a new Stewart the end of May 2015.

7.3.2.1 ???? According to the naming system created by our resident data guru, web master, and cousin Sue Hurst, this number designates the place Aaron’s new baby will hold in the Stewart family. Cliff Stewart, Aaron’s grandfather, was #7 of William & Mabel Mike Stewart, Aaron’s father, was #3 of Cliff & Evelyn Aaron was #2 born of Mike & Nancy New Baby will be #1 of Aaron & Nicole

INTRODUCING KELLEN CLINTON MOONEY Meagan & Matt Mooney (Diane & Tom Kahl) announce the arrival of Kellen Clinton Mooney on June 12. Kellen joins his big brother, Nolan, who turned two on June 28. Great grandparents are Kate Schejbal and Laverne Kahl; Paternal grandparents are Clint Mooney and Andi Anderson. Great grandma, Kate, reports Kellen was small at birth but is catching up quickly. She says he is a good baby and has the look of an old soul.

Stewart Family Donation Each year, we collect a donation to give to the church in appreciation for the use of the Cornerstone building. Anyone not attending who wishes to make a

donation, make your check to Centenary United Methodist Church and send it to Sue Wilke so we can be sure it is properly credited to the Stewart family. Those who are at-tending, please give your $$ to Ken Wilke.

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu 2014

We will plan to take the picture and prepare to eat at our usual time of NOON.

Please have any of your assignments prepped, hot (or cold as needed) and ready to go following our prayer.

Anyone who plans to come but has not been given an assignment is welcome to bring anything that suits your

fancy--vegetable, dessert, drink, etc.

Sue & Ken 25 lbs. mashed potatoes Turkey & Gravy Diane Williams Turkey & Gravy 2 pies Coffee Donna Ham Dessert Belinda Dressing & turkey breast 2 Sodas Aluminum Foil Mary Mac Ham Pie 1 lb. butter 50 Chinette Dessert plates Jean Sweet potatoes 50 Chinette dinner plates Gallon-sized plastic bags Salle Pie Vegetable 1 lb grapes

Pat Stewart Pies 2 Sodas 50 Chinette plates Carol Crites Vegetables 1/2 & 1/2 1qt. Kathy Arman 4 cans cranberry sauce Napkins Doug Fitzwater Large heavy-duty trash bags 2 Sodas Diane Kahl Dessert 100 cold cups Marti Bates Green bean casserole Drink Jeanne Daniels 1 lb butter 1 gallon milk 50 Chinette dinner plates Krissy Wilke 1 lb. pecans 1 lg pkg miniature marshmallows Suzy 2 Sodas 2 Pies 100 hot cups

Sherry Moore Dessert Napkins 4 large pkgs frozen corn Sue Hurst Rolls Tea Becky Eaton 2 Sodas--regular & diet 1 lb butter Dessert Kate 1 lb grapes 3 qts cream 3 large pkgs. frozen peas Beth Celery 2 pies Paper towels 50 dessert plates Sandy Hurst 3 lbs. apples Corn casserole 50 dessert plates Andrea Eaton 6 cans whole green beans 2 Pepsi or Coke

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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.

Belinda.Lower@gmail.com

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