Sally Eldridge Stewart, 85, died in French Camp, on Sunday, July 9, 2017, from a wide assortment of ailments that just happen when you get older. But that doesn’t matter. What’s most important is the full life of the feisty, intelligent, loving, independent, silly woman, Sally Stewart -- a mother, a granny, a friend, a nurse.
Sally was born on February 2, 1932, in Waynesboro, to Martha and William Eldridge of Quitman. She was the fourth of six siblings.
After graduation from Quitman High School, Sally attended Rush Nursing School in Meridian where she received her nursing degree in 1954. The next year, in August of 1955, she married and moved to Jackson to begin her nursing career. She would later have four children, two boys and a set of twin girls, before receiving her Bachelor of Science in 1965 as a single mother from the University of Mississippi. She worked at the University of Mississippi Medical Center for seven years before joining the team at the VA Medical Center where she then worked until her retirement in March of 1994. The VA celebrated her 28 years of service with a party before she was whisked away in a limousine.
After retiring, Sally moved to French Camp in May of 1994 where she built a house and a pond and began planting roots. Literally. She was an avid gardener, growing many a glorious angel trumpet, hibiscus flowers, and knock-me-out roses, to name just a few. Scattered about Sally’s house are blackberry brambles, cypress knees, fig trees, and stray dogs that she would often feed microwaved hotdogs to.
Sally particularly enjoyed spending her days outside. If she wasn’t playing in the garden or placing flowers around French Camp, she was likely on the pier, fishing for bream or catfish in her pond. A casual evening for Sally meant skinning the fish she caught before frying them up on the back porch with a few hushpuppies.
She was a great enthusiast, an avid reader, a lover of traveling, a dedicated Fun and Fellowship member, and a brutal competitor. Sally would spend hours strategically planning her next move in a competitive game of Chicken Feet, dominos or Scrabble.
But perhaps Sally’s greatest gift was the way she cared for people well -- quilting blankets for homeless shelters, knitting rugs for group homes, stitching bibs for the elderly, stuffing envelopes for her town, canning preserves to give away, volunteering at French Camp Academy’s Harvest Festival, or baking a jalapeno cornbread to take over to someone sick, or who just needed a little pick-me-up. Sally loved people through her constant acts of service.
Surviving are her four children: Randy (Linda) Stewart of Connelly Springs, North Carolina; Lou Stewart of Homer, Alaska; and twins, Ann Deininger of Byram, and Jan (Bobby Gene) Henderson of French Camp; a sister, Louise Spencer of Minnesota; and a brother, Grady Eldridge of Houston, Miss. She fiercely adored her eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren and all her many nieces and nephews. She was blessed by a barrage of caregivers and home healthcare nurses.
Shewas preceded in death by her parents and three sisters, Pauline Kysar, Ida Mae Salley, and Faye Barrnett of Jackson.
Sally donated her body to science, where they will be recovering her tissue to be used for a variety of medical research and education projects, such as cancer research, Alzheimer’s research, and training surgeons on the latest medical advancements. Because of course she did.
A memorial service will be held at French Camp Baptist Church on August 13, 2017. Services start at 3 p.m. Visitation will begin at 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Gideons or Baptist Children’s Village.
