Janet E. Stewart's Obituary
Janet Stewart was born 91 years ago in Watertown, SD and named Eleanor May but the name never felt right to her so she had it legally changed to Janet. She passed away Saturday afternoon. Her first job was with the County Extension Office. Her secretarial skills eventually took her to Washington DC where she worked on the hill and in the Pentagon. She then grew her promotional skills at WTOP Radio and TV station where she enjoyed meeting with celebrities. She moved to Memphis in 1962 and met her husband Richard when he visited her on behalf of the church he attended. Richard owned Lacey Stewart Saw Co. with his brother and Janet was very proud of her work in the family business. Janet’s creativity lead her to start her own business she called Lady Craft where she taught women to design and sew their own clothes. Richard and Janet were the second owners of the house they bought on McLean in Central Gardens and loved the annual Christmas parties they hosted there and cooking everyone’s favorite holiday treats. Janet was a tireless volunteer and worked at Galloway United Methodist Church in Cooper-Young where she founded The LampLighter newspaper which has been in publication for over 25 years. She served many hours for St. Jude and read the newspaper on the radio for WYPL at the Library. She was a member of Trininty Lutheran Church where she volunteered in the office. Janet’s husband Richard preceded her in death as did her parents, Arthur Alfred Schwandt and Fernanda Elinor (Schoepp) Schwandt, and her sister Sylvia Jean Schwandt. Janet loved to tell jokes and study the origins of words. She loved to tell stories of her work and travels. Her spirit lives on through the many lives she touched. A service will be held at Memorial Park Funeral Home Wednesday, November 5th at 2:30 pm. Visitation 1:30 pm in the Mausoleum.
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