Charlotte Stewart

Charlotte Rose Stewart, 83, of Independence, Missouri, passed away at The Groves in Independence on Friday, September 11, 2009. A visitation will be held from 1-2:30 p.m. with a service to follow at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15, at the Speaks Suburban Chapel, 18020 E. 39th St., Independence, MO. Burial at Mt. Washington Forever Cemetery in Independence will immediately follow the service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Alzheimer’s Association, Heart of America Chapter, 3846 W. 75th Street, Prairie Village, Kansas 66208 or to the charity of your choice. Charlotte was born on April 22nd, 1926, to Henry Clay and Nellie Alice Garrison. She lived all of her life in Independence, Missouri, and was raised in the beautiful antebellum home at 1400 North Main. She graduated from William Chrisman High School in 1944. For her undergraduate studies she attended William Jewell College, the University of Missouri at Kansas City and the University of Missouri at Columbia where she was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She was a member of the Junior Service League, The Browning Society and All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church. In 1949 she married Byron A. Stewart, Jr., her high school and college sweetheart. They loved to travel, at home and abroad, particularly collecting sea shells in Sanibel Island, Florida, and Southwest craft items in Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico. For twenty years she was the owner and operator of Children’s House, a Montessori preschool. She and her staff taught preschoolers from all over Jackson County. She always loved children and could not pass a baby or youngster without stopping. She subsequently attended the University of Missouri at Kansas City and in 1983 obtained her Doctor of Psychology degree. That year she and her friend Bill Covington formed Covington-Stewart Counseling Services, Inc., counseling and helping many individuals and couples until she retired in 2005. Charlotte also taught psychology courses at Rockhurst, Penn Valley and UMKC. She was preceded in death by her parents, Nellie A. and Henry C. Garrison and by her brothers, Grant M. Garrison and William T. Garrison. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Byron A. Stewart, Jr., by her three children, Byron G. Stewart of Parkville, Laura A. Thompson, of Independence, and John J. Stewart of Sibley, a daughter-in-law, Amy Boutte-Stewart, two grandchildren, Cheyenne G. Stewart and Aubriana R. Stewart, and two nephews, Charles and James Garrison. Charlotte was an amazing woman. She was a dream wife, a loving and doting parent and grandparent, a sweet, sweet woman and a model for all. She will be sorely missed but she has left a wonderful legacy.