Surrounded by her family, Elaine Jewett Stuart died on Sunday, March 14, 2021, at her home in Willows after a four-year battle with melanoma. She was born in Arlington, Mass., on March 12, 1933.
She had wonderful memories of growing up, picking blueberries and having snowball fights in Lexington, Mass., with her siblings, Anne (Jewett) Brewster and Paul Jewett.
In 1945, the family moved to Los Gatos, California. Elaine recounted many trips to the beach in Santa Cruz and tending to the family’s animals and small prune orchard.
She graduated from Los Gatos High School in 1951. That summer she and her sister, Anne, worked nights at the United Products cannery in San Jose.
One fateful night, Anne told her supervisor to “go join the human race” and sped away in the car, leaving Elaine with no way to get home. A young Neil Stuart, who was also working at the cannery, saw his chance and offered Elaine a ride home.
Three years later, on April 24, Elaine and Neil married in Los Gatos. In 2020, they celebrated their 66th anniversary.
After just a few weeks of marriage and a wonderful honeymoon, Elaine and Neil were separated for 18 months when the Air Force shipped Neil to Okinawa, Japan. But while Neil was away, Elaine was able to complete her BA degree at San Jose State University.
When Neil returned, the happy couple drove to Virginia, where Neil was stationed at Langley Air Base. Elaine began her teaching career in Virginia.
After Neil was discharged in 1956, Elaine and Neil came back to California for Neil’s first position teaching music in Williams. The happy couple welcomed their first child, Carolyn, into the world in September of that year.
Elaine and Neil moved to Willows in 1958, when Neil began teaching music at Sycamore Intermediate School. During the time that Elaine lived in Willows, she taught at Murdock Elementary, Artois, Happy Times Nursery School, and Princeton.
She finished her career as a resource specialist.
Elaine and Neil’s second daughter, Jyl, was born in 1967. Elaine was a remarkably patient and loving mother.
She never seemed to tire of sewing Halloween costumes and attending her daughters’ concerts.
Elaine’s family grew to include sons-in-law when Carolyn married Glenn Dawson in 1978 and Jyl married Mike Groves in 1988.
In 1987, Elaine and Neil retired from teaching. They traveled internationally to Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Their U.S. travels included Alaska, and Hawaii and a trailer trip to the East Coast. They traveled to Arizona every winter.
And every July, they took their trailer and boat to Crescent City, but Elaine loved the family cabin in Mineral King, Sequoia National Park, most of all. Elaine and Neil’s many backpack trips included the 210-mile John Muir Trail in 1977.
Two new sources of joy entered Elaine’s life in the 1990s, when her grandchildren, Steven and Kyle Groves, were born. Suddenly there were more costumes to sew and concerts to attend.
In 2018, she danced at Steven’s wedding to Gabriela. And in 2019, she met Kyle’s partner, Ethan, when she traveled to Princeton.
The Stuart family is grateful for the support of Enloe Hospice Care, which made it possible for Elaine to pass away at her home. Elaine was an active member of the Willows United Methodist Church.
Her memorial will be held at the church at 2 p.m. on May 8, 2021. The church is located at 544 North Shasta Street.
The Glenn County Observer 