Anne Stewart

Anne McGuirt Stewart passed from this world to the next on Christmas Day, 2022. She is survived by her husband Wayland Stewart; her two children: Julie (Charley) Pride of Bowling Green, Kentucky and Wesley (Mary Batterson) Stewart of Norfolk, VA; her brother Larry McGuirt of Monroe, NC and sister Jane (Marvin) Johnson of Waxhaw, NC, as well as grandchildren Emily Anne (Alex) Pride Sutton, Will Pride, Wyatt Stewart, and Jack Stewart; nephews Daniel (Autumn) McGuirt, Jonathan (Malerie) McGuirt, great nieces, Cheyenne, Linlee and Reese McGuirt and great nephew David McGuirt. Anne grew up in rural Union County, NC. She learned to drive on a tractor and as a senior in the last graduating class of Mineral Springs High School she drove one of the school's buses. She trained as a teacher at Wingate and Appalachian State and moved to Anne Arundel county in Maryland for her first teaching assignment. It was there that she met Wayland Stewart (Stu) and sparks flew... Their journey together includes their marriage on June 26, 1966, living in Germany during Stu's Army service, a brief stop in White Sands, New Mexico, and eventually a home in Clearwater, FL where they raised their children. Anne and Stu were active members of St Paul United Methodist Church in Largo, FL, avid tennis players (they played with the same group every Monday for over twenty years) and belonged to a local bridge group that met monthly. An educator all her life, Anne taught at Oak Grove Middle School and Clearwater High School in Clearwater, where she taught business classes, typing (remember that?), stenography (who remembers that...), and acted as the yearbook advisor. Following Anne's retirement she and Stu moved to Wesley Chapel, NC where she was an active congregant at Weddington United Methodist Church, participated in local garden clubs, and enjoyed decorating, hosting parties, and socializing with the women in her subdivision and her beloved Agape Sunday School Class. She particularly enjoyed regular gatherings with her high school class, many of whom remain in the area. Anne was a traveler. She and Stu took several trips to Europe in the 80s and 90s, and in her later years they joined the international travel club Friendship Force, leading to trips and friendships around the world. Anne will always be associated with baskets and basketweaving. She wove her first basket in 1982 and was hooked. Anne traveled the country attending weaving conferences and seminars as both a student and an instructor. To this day, after gifting baskets for years, her house is still filled with beautiful baskets. Anne only met strangers once.... After that, she was a friend. She seemed to know everyone, everywhere. She even ran into someone she knew once while in Paris. She was apt to strike up a conversation with anyone at any time. Most of all, Anne loved her family and friends dearly. Her children and grandchildren were the light of her life and her relationships with her brother and sister were cherished. She was a devoted wife, an amazing mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, colleague, teacher, and friend. It is impossible to exaggerate the number of lives enriched by her love and presence. She will truly be missed and will live on in the hearts of those who knew her. Anne's family wishes to thank Waltonwood Providence and Hospice of the Charlotte Region for her excellent care. To honor her life, we think Anne and Stu would want you to be kind to someone you don't know, pet someone's dog, take cookies to a neighbor, sing an old song, reach out to someone you haven't spoken to in a while, invite someone over for the holidays who would otherwise be alone, or just take a moment to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you. In place of flowers, please consider donations to Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region hpccr.org. A celebration of Anne's life will be held on Saturday, January 7th at 1:00pm at Weddington United Methodist Church with a reception to follow.

Anne Stewart

July 20, 1943 - December 25, 2022