Mary Stewart

Our beloved Mother, Mary Louise Simmons Stewart, passed into the loving arms of her Lord on Friday, June 10th, 2016 at the age of 91. She was born on January 4th, 1925 to Ernest R. and Hattie Simmons in San Antonio, Tx. She graduated from Brackenridge High School in 1942 as the Vice President of the senior class and played clarinet in the Mighty Eagles Band. She was very proud of her accomplishments in high school. She went on to attend Abilene Christian College for a year before returning to San Antonio and becoming one of the first employees hired for USAA. As a military wife, she moved frequently, but was able to see so much of the world beyond Texas. She enjoyed traveling to Japan with two small children, where the family was stationed for a couple of years. Once all four children were born, the family was moved to Stuttgart, Germany where we were stationed for 3 years. She truly loved traveling around Europe and seeing places and meeting people that she might not have been able to, if not for the military. In between duty stations, we always came back to Texas. In the mid-1960s, she divorced and began working full-time and raising us four kids as a single parent. She was always a hard worker, very intelligent, and had the most positive attitude, which she instilled in all four of us kids. Following a long career in Civil Service (Randolph AFB, Kelly AFB, and Ft. Sam Houston), she retired as a computer systems analyst from Ft. Sam Houston in 1987. After retirement, she enjoyed just loving life and being with her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. She left a legacy of unconditional love, encouragement, and grace to all of us left behind and she will always be loved and sorely missed each and every day. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Robert D. Simmons; sisters, Katherine Sartain and Margie Gray; very special aunts, Pauline Workman and Willie Budd "Bill" Hale; grandson, Stephen Spencer Jr.; and many other aunts, uncles, cousins, family and friends. She is survived by her children and their spouses: Raymond D. Stewart Jr. (Linda), Barbara A. Little (Dennis), Susan S. Spencer (Stephen), and James R. Stewart (Brenda); 12 grandchildren- Donnie, Tracy, Lisa, Jenni, Michael, Jon, Nick, Shelby, Taylor, Travis, Christopher and Ryan; 19 great-grandchildren; brother; Ernest R. Simmons Jr. (wife Fay); sister Mickey Gill; and numerous nephews, nieces, cousins and extended family. She was much loved by all who knew her and we were so honored and grateful to have her as a huge part of our lives for so long. The family would like to thank Heart to Heart Hospice for the loving care shown to our precious Mother. Funeral services will be held at Live Oak First Baptist Church, 11560 Toepperwein Rd., Live Oak, Tx on Monday, June 20th, 2016 at 10:00AM, with a brief reception to be held at the church. Interment will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Park, 7735 Gibbs Sprawl Rd., San Antonio, Tx. To honor our mother, we ask that family and friends wear the color purple, as this was her favorite color.