Dorothy Skinner Stewart

Dorothy Skinner Stewart passed away peacefully at Hospice of the Piedmont Acute Care Center on December 27, 2018 from complications of Alzheimer's disease. Born May 21, 1929 in Jackson, Mississippi, she was the oldest of three children of Henry Allen Stovall and Dorothy Skinner Stovall. Her parents, trained as missionaries, took on what would become their life's work as director and principal of a mission school in eastern Kentucky, Hazel Green Academy, and they reared their family there. She first met her future husband Herbert Hoover Stewart when they were both children and he was visiting relatives in Hazel Green. After graduating from HGA in the class of 1947, she received her BA from Transylvania College in Lexington Kentucky. It was there that she became reacquainted with Hoover, as he was known, and they were married at HGA in a double-ring ceremony on August 16th, 1953, alongside her brother Henry and his bride Carolyn.

They began their married life with a move to Willimantic, Connecticut where Hoover obtained his Master's degree and Dotty worked in the library at the University of Connecticut. Next was a move to New York City where Dotty worked in the library at Columbia University while Hoover completed his doctoral studies. The first of their three children, a son, was born there, followed two years later by their second, a daughter born while they were living in Nutley, New Jersey. In 1961 they moved to Temple Terrace, FL, when Hoover took a job teaching at the newly-established University of South Florida. There Dotty began work on a Master's in Library Science degree, which she completed some years later, and had their third child, a son born in 1967. That year they moved to Boca Raton, FL where Hoover had accepted a position at Florida Atlantic University, and they settled in for the next 36 years. Dotty raised her family and worked in libraries at St. Andrew's School, FAU, and a large neurology practice.

Always friendly, pleasant and outgoing, Dotty was a warm and gracious hostess, and she served a term as president of the FAU Women's Club. Annual trips to KY kept families connected. Her family was always her first priority and she worked hard to ensure that her children had a solid start in life. She enjoyed gardening, interior design, and architecture. She designed both their house in Boca Raton and their home at Stony Creek at Wintergreen Virginia, where they retired in 2003. She also enjoyed travel, music and dancing. As a college student she traveled to England and France as part of a folk dancing troupe. Many years later, she enjoyed revisiting one of those venues, Stratford-upon-Avon, on a family trip to England. In her later years she enjoyed exercise class and book group with her friends, and she remained pleasant to the end.

Dotty was a member of the United Church of Christ in Boca Raton and of Rockfish Presbyterian Church in Nellysford, VA. She was preceded in death by her parents, her aunt Rita Skinner, and her brother Henry A. Stovall, Jr. She is survived by her husband of 65 years Herbert H. Stewart, her son Herbert L. Stewart and his wife Liz Palmer of Charlottesville; her daughter Allison D. Brightly and her husband Paul Brightly of Austin, TX, her son Thomas A. Stewart and his wife Sandy of Land O' Lakes, FL, her brother James R. Stovall and his wife Gwen of Shreveport, LA, sister-in-law Carolyn Stovall of Beavercreek, OH, and five grandchildren: Ashley Brightly, Thomas Brightly, Austin Brightly, Emily Brightly, and Bailey Stewart.

The family appreciates the care and support of her friends, volunteers and professionals at UVa and the Hospice of the Piedmont. Teague Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. A memorial service will be scheduled for this summer, when family and friends can attend. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to Hospice, Rockfish Presbyterian Church, an Alzheimer's charity, or the charity of one's choice.