John D. Stewart

VENUS -- John D. Stewart, 82, a retired machine shop owner, died Friday, April 2, 2004, at a local hospital.

Funeral: 2 p.m. Tuesday at Clayton Kay-Vaughan Funeral Home Chapel, with the Rev. Randy Mitchell and the Rev. Bill Cashon officiating. Burial: Venus Memorial Park Cemetery, Venus. Visitation: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday and 5 to 7 p.m. Monday.

John D. Stewart was born in Albany, Texas, Sept. 26, 1921, to Milton Allan Stewart and Hazel Barker Stewart. John graduated from Albany High School in 1941.

After graduation, he went to Orange and worked in the shipyards as a shipfitter first class before volunteering as a Seabee during World War II. He served with the 24th Navy Construction Reserve Battalion three and a half years in the Pacific theater, where he received a Purple Heart.

John was married to Oma Jean Hawkins March 9, 1947. To this union, five children were born. He married Joye Estep April 5, 1975, in Everman. He attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene before transferring to Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee and graduating from OBU in 1954 with a B.A. He also attended Southwest Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth.

John had an extended career in manufacturing related to oil exploration, aircraft, electronics, playground equipment, and taught machine shop at R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton from 1979 to 1981. In 1982 he taught machine shop at Canadian Valley Vo-Tech in Chickasaw, Okla. He moved to Mangum, Okla., in 1982 and was the owner of Mangum Machine Shop for 20 years.

He was a member of First Baptist Church in Blair, Okla. John and his wife, Joye, moved to Venus in 2002 to be near their family and attended Venus United Methodist Church with stepson and family. John was a true Christian man. His caring heart and generous spirit will be greatly missed.

He was preceded in death by his parents and stepmom, Ercel; sons, Johnny and Tim; brother, James; and daughter-in-law, Kathy Estep.

Survivors: Wife, Joye Stewart of Venus; brothers, Herman of Fort Worth, Joe of Albany, Texas, Cecil and wife, Jean of Rio Rancho, N.M.; stepsister, Helen Lieb of Albany, Texas; sons, Terry Lee and wife, Virginia of Tacoma, Wash., Ronny of Fort Worth, Kent Estep and wife, Amy of Alvarado; and daughter, Paula Rambo of Fort Worth; 16 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Clayton Kay-Vaughan Funeral Home
Alvarado, (817) 783-3062

Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX) - Sunday, April 4, 2004
Submitted by Edward Lynn Williams