Charlene "Char" Stewart
March 17, 2011
Char, 80, died Thursday, March 17, 2011, at Mercy Hospice in Johnston after a brave and courageous fight against cancer. She was born December 28, 1930, in Boone, Iowa to Ruth and Charles Fritch.
Char started her career as a medical assistant with Roy Overton, Sr., that soon developed into a lifetime friendship. She worked for 30 years as a lab tech for the VA Hospital and for the past 25 years has been teaching in the Med Lab Tech and Phlebotomy Department at DMACC. Char was a life long member of the Lutheran Church. She enjoyed collecting Santas, pigs, P. Buckley Moss prints, crocheting, cross stitch, and was an Iowa Hawkeye fan.
Char is survived by her loving husband of 46 years, Vern; daughter, Robin Stewart; sisters, Joan Sauer, Mary Lou (George) Olauson, Shirley (Gary) Fitzgerald; brother-in-law, Gene (Joy) Stewart; two nieces; five nephews; 11 great nieces and nephews; one great-great nephew; her former co-workers at the VA Hospital and DMACC; hundreds of past and present Med Lab Tech students; and special neighbors and many friends. Her adored and loved dog, Crickett. She was preceded in death by her brother-in-law, Calvin Sauer; sister, Ellen Fritch; parents Charles and Ruth; parents-in-law, Vern A. and Viola Stewart.
Funeral services will be held 10:00 a.m., Monday, March 21, 2011, at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 8301 Aurora Avenue, Urbandale, with burial to follow at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery. Family will greet visitors from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 20, at the church.
Memorial contributions may be made to the DMACC Foundation – Char Stewart Scholarship Fund. This will be used to award scholarships to Med Lab Tech students.
A special thanks to Mercy Hospice in Johnston for all the wonderful care given to Char.
Online condolences may be made to:
www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com
Dave and Judy Holmes
03/22/2011
Vern,
We have such fond memories of the years we were you and Char's neighbors on Terrace Drive. We always loved seeing Char with your little teacup dog. Char's great sense of humor and amusing stories made us smile so often. She will be missed. Our sincere condolences to you and Robin.
Kari Schopf
03/21/2011
Char was a real treasure. She was a valuable member of the Health & Public Services department at DMACC. You could always count on her to faithfully show up at work, do what needed to be done, have a smile, and always had a story to tell. She will be greatly missed.
Kari Schopf
former secretary to the Dean
of Health & Public Services
April Leber
03/19/2011
To Char's family,
Char will be greatly missed by all that knew her. What a great lady. I never
once heard her raise her voice even when she was frustrated with the way things were going. Before I was a student at DMACC in the MLT program my husband came home from work (he was chip truck driver for old dutch at the time) and asked me if I knew Pie. He described her to a T but I knew her as Char. Two weeks into our program she overheard some students talking in the hallway and didn't care for one of the comments she heard. She then told us the story of how she got her nick name Pie. It was then that I realized that was who My husband had been telling me about. He gave me two bags of her favorite chips to take to class with me one day and she was so suprised that he remembered her and that she loved the salt and vinegar chips.
With much sympathy
April and Matt Leber
Chaplain Martha Lang
03/19/2011
To Charlene's Family,
My sincere condolences for the death of Charlene. I
could see how deeply you all loved her, and pray
that same love will provide each and all
with strength for the future.
May God bless you, and hold you
close at this time.
In Christ's Name,
Martha Lang
Chaplain, UIHC
Randy,Jan,Ryan,Brett Stewart
03/19/2011
Robin and Junior:
Our hearts are with you. May the wonderful memories you have of Charlene help you through this difficult time period. We will always remember the fun Christmas Eve's over at Grandma Stewart's apartment that the 3 of you would also be at. We can't ever remember a time when Charlene would not be happy to talk with all of us about anything. We will all miss her from our family. We are here for you when you need us.
Randy, Jan, Ryan, Brett Stewart
Lori Baer
03/19/2011
I was so sad to hear about Char. She was always so spunky and strong, even during her battle. I hope she knew how much everyone loved her--she was so much fun and so helpful to all of her students. She made our experience that much better with her wonderful stories--what a hoot!!
My sympathies are with you Robin and your father. I will always think of Char with a smile.
DMACC H&PS Dept
03/18/2011
Vern & Robin-
We are so blessed to have known Char. She will be greatly missed by all that she met and mentored. Our deepest sympathy to you and your family.
DMACC Health & Public Sevices Department
(Char's home away from home for the last 25 years)
Shelly K. DMACC Lab Tech student
03/18/2011
Char was funny and a bit on the feisty side. While working with us in the DMACC lab
she would always share a story about something humorous that happened during her
career at the VA. Sometimes it was just a funny story and sometimes it was meant as
a lesson and sometimes it was both. She always had something to tell and was hardly
ever down. She was also a great teacher; dedicated, caring, supportive and honest...
truly one of a kind!
It was a pleasure to have known Char and to have learned from her.
She is already missed......
With sympathy and respect,
SK
Sally Schroeder
03/18/2011
Vern and Robin: You have my sympathy. Char meant so much to all of us. She will forever be in our hearts.
Sally