Harold ‘Gene’ Stewart
Funeral services for Harold “Gene” Stewart of rural Elsberry were held at 10:30 a.m.,Wednesday at Carter-Ricks Funeral Home in Elsberry. J. Larry Carter of Carter-Ricks Funeral Homes, officiated with burial in Elsberry City Cemetery near Elsberry.
Visitation was from 4-8 p.m., Tuesday, Feb.13 at Carter-Ricks Funeral Home in Elsberry.
The Rev. Stewart, 83, died Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018 at his home near Annada.
Born Feb. 12, 1934 in Hannibal, he was the son of Richard Otto and Freda Maxine Watts Stewart. He was a 1951 graduate of Elsberry High School. He was united in marriage on June 17, 1951 in Elsberry to Dottie Lee Ray. This union was blessed with four children, Debbie, Pam, Bruce and Melissa.
Gene was a respected farmer for many years in the Annada area. He farmed for Ret. Col. William Wells, Ross Cannon, Wayne Kurfman and Jim Boy Welch, retiring in 2006. He was a devout Christian. He was ordained in 1981 and served as pastor of the Clarksville Baptist Church for nine years, and in that capacity also served area nursing homes and the Pike County Sheriff’s Department as a chaplain. He was a member of the Whiteside Baptist Church. His hobbies included hunting and fishing.
Survivors include his beloved wife of 66 years, Dottie Stewart of Elsberry; their children, Debbie Vortman and husband, David of Bluffs, Ill., Pam Grimshaw and husband, Richard of Troy, Bruce Stewart and wife, Brenda of Elsberry, and Melissa Wheeler and husband, Ed of Eolia; 10 grandchildren; and 27 great-grandchildren. He also leaves a sister-in-law, Leona Stewart of Moscow Mills; a brother-in-law, Tommy Hunter of Elsberry, an aunt, Betty Lou Pardee of Camden, Ark.; an uncle, M.H. Stewart and wife, Barb of Hannibal; several nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and many friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Richard and Freda Stewart; one brother, Richard Henry “Dick” Stewart; his sister, Alice Faye Stewart; one grandson, John Thomas Stewart; five sisters-in-law, Ruth Ray, Helen Hunter, Margie Gladney, Sarah Ray and Joyce Stewart; and two brothers-in-law, J.C. Ray and Russell Gladney.
Serving as pallbearers were Nick Clevenger, Gene Grimshaw, Bruce Stewart, II, Adam Stewart, Jared Stewart, Aaron Carr, Chris Zumwalt, Kevin Crawmer and Richard Evans. Serving as honorary pallbearers were Tommy Hunter, Harris Guyton, Charley Henley, the Rev. Charlie Moore and Jack Morrow.
Memorials may be made to the Community Loving Care Hospice, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association, c/o Carter-Ricks Funeral Home, 107 South Fifth Street, Elsberry, MO 63343.
Online condolences may be made at www.carterricksfuneralhome.com.
