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Stewart loved music, children

Her children say that Lois French Stewart would tell you her biggest accomplishment was raising six children.
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She would greet her children when they got home from school with the smell of freshly baked bread or homemade goodies.

When her children were young, she invited neighborhood friends to a Bible club. After the lesson, she'd give them Kool-Aid and cookies - and love, lots of love.

Lois Stewart, 92, died Saturday after a stroke on March 2.

Her father, Chester T. French, founded French Mortuary in 1907 at Fifth Street and Central Avenue. Lois Stewart was born there in December 1913. The family lived on the second floor with the mortuary below, said son Chet Stewart.

The youngest of three children, Lois Stewart graduated from Albuquerque High School when she was 16, then studied violin at the Kansas City Conservatory of Music and the University of Michigan.

Music, especially old hymns and the classics, maintained a hold on her throughout her life, son Bob Stewart said.

She met her husband, Jack Stewart of El Paso, in the mid-1930s when the two took voice lessons with the same teacher.

"She said he had outstanding voice and was a very handsome man," Bob Stewart said.

Jack and Lois Stewart married in Albuquerque in 1936, then lived in El Paso where he had an oil distributing business.

After a few years, they moved to Albuquerque so she could care for her ailing mother. He traveled from Albuquerque to El Paso for his business, making sure he was home on weekends.

"On Sunday morning, she had to get up early, get dressed, cook breakfast for eight people and get us all dressed," Chet Stewart said.

After church, the family would return home for roast, rice and gravy, homemade rolls and homemade pie, he said.

"Our home was always very open to guests," he said. "We always had friends as guests especially on Sunday noon."

Lois Stewart invited from two to six people over for lunch and fellowship.

After their children were grown, Lois Stewart took her knowledge and love of the Bible to a women's group.

"For several years, she was a leader and teacher in Bible Study Fellowship," Chet Stewart said. "She was really a great Bible scholar."

Another talent she shared was her voice.

When Jack Stewart was ill with cancer in the early 1970s, Lois Stewart used to sing to him.

In her soprano voice, she entertained him with some of her favorite hymns like "Great is Thy Faithfulness," "How Great Thou Art" and "Because He Lives."

"She was never into organizations so much, but on a personal level, she was constantly involved," Bob Stewart said.

She had 19 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren, he said.

Services were planned for today with burial at Sunset Memorial Park.