Uncle Homer Stewart

Uncle Homer Stewart has been a great pleasure in my life.  As long as I remember, he always brought laughter and joy to every occasion.  As a Methodist minister among Baptist and Church of God families, he has always been respected as a man of God.  It has been his joy to tease me, a Baptist minister nephew, about our differences in doctrine at every meeting, always in jest.  It was fun to tell him that my grandchildren have a Baptist minister as their Grandpa Jewell, and a Methodist minister as their Grandma Matthews.  I said, “I guess it must be the best of both worlds.”

He always loves to remind me that he was “nearly” present at my birth.  His wife, my Aunt Zelma was staying with Mother and Dad as the due date arrived.  According to his version, he and Aunt Zelma were holding hands in the living room, when my Dad asked him to leave.  “What have I done”, he thought.  “I have been behaving myself.  Why are you making me leave?”

“The baby is on the way”, Dad said.  So out the door he went.  So he was “nearly” present at my birth, but my first act in this world was to break up a perfectly good date!

I guess it wasn’t permanent because he married my Aunt Zelma and has been my Uncle Homer for most of my life.