Delray Beach — Lucy Stewart, a 37-year resident of Delray Beach and
an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and the community
died peacefully at her home on Oct. 14. She was 96. “Everyone knew
Lucy,” said Patsy Westall, the daughter of Helen Toal, one of Ms.
Stewart’s longtime friends. “If there was a need, there was Lucy. I
believe that one of the hardest parts of her decline over the last
few years, both emotionally and physically for her, was not being
able to serve. It was how she defined herself. Even as I visited
her in this last year, she would always say ‘I wish there was
something I could do for you’.” Originally from Salisbury, N.C.,
Ms. Stewart attended the Women’s College, now the University of
North Carolina Greensboro, where she received her teaching degree.
She taught elementary school in Salisbury and married Sam Stewart,
her husband of 40 years, in 1944. The two moved to Delray Beach in
1972 and were members of the The Little Club in Gulf Stream, where
Ms. Stewart continued to play golf until she was 90. Ms. Stewart
was preceded in death by her husband in 1984. Ms. Stewart was a
member of St. Paul’s Episcopal for over 30 years. She was an avid
member of the Episcopal Church Women, an advocacy group who sought
to have the voices and concerns of women heard both in the
community and within the Episcopal Church. When Patsy Westall moved
to Delray six years ago to care for her mother, it was Ms. Stewart
who recruited her to the ECW. “When I moved here, Lucy became an
active part of my life,” said Ms. Westall. “She told me that I
needed to be a member of the ECW, and then told me what time she
was going to pick me up.” Said St. Paul’s Rev. Kathleen Gannon,
“She preached with her actions and not her words. She had a
servant’s heart and a demonstrative leadership quality.” Mrs.
Stewart is survived by her two sons, Samuel E. Stewart Jr. of
Villanova, Penn., and his long time companion, Despina F. Page, and
Richard L. Stewart of Penfield, N.Y., his wife, Lin, and their two
daughters, Heather Stewart of Atlanta and Rebecca Stewart, a
student at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Friends were invited
to attend a memorial service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in
Delray Beach on Oct. 24. In lieu of flowers, donations may be
made in memory of Lucy Stewart to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188
S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33444 for their outreach
programs.
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