ARC Elizabeth Stewart
ARC Elizabeth Stewart
Katherine Walsh Stewart
During a 30-year career in education, including 26 years as a counselor at American River College, Katherine “Kay” Stewart helped countless numbers of students achieve their educational goals.
She was born Katherine Alberta Walsh, the daughter of Kate M. Walsh (formerly Katrinka Offer) and Albert C. Walsh, on January 20, 1916, in Waring, Texas. She had a happy childhood in the Texas Hill Country. With her cousins and friends, she enjoyed swimming in the Guadalupe River, participating in sports and other outdoor activities, and getting into mischief. She was devoted to her grandfather, August Offer, a man of vision and a community leader. Her mother was a businesswoman and postmistress at Waring.
At age 13, Katherine and her mother moved to San Antonio, Texas, where she finished junior high school and high school. At Incarnate Word College, she was elected president of her sophomore and junior classes. She later transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in zoology. Later in life she earned a Master of Education degree in counseling from the University of Arizona, Tucson, and completed additional courses at Sacramento State University.
In July 1941, at age 25, Katherine (Kay) married Lieutenant Robert Reed (Bob) Stewart, United States Army Air Corps, in Fairbanks, Alaska. For their honeymoon, the couple went on a fishing trip in a remote part of Alaska. They had four children. During 20 years as an Army and Air Force wife, she and her family lived in many locations throughout the United States, as well as London, England, and traveled extensively. Her experiences during the military years ranged from camping in the Alaskan wilderness to attending a social event at Buckingham Palace, but most of her activities centered on her family. Following Bob’s retirement from the Air Force, Kay completed her master’s degree.
In 1963 she became a counselor at El Camino High School in Sacramento, California. From 1967 to 1993, she was a counselor at American River College (ARC). During her 26 years at ARC, she touched many lives. Kay helped students gain the confidence to follow their dreams because she believed in them. In addition to her regular counseling duties, she served as the counselor for the blind and visually impaired students for more than 20 years. She helped make higher education accessible to these students and contributed in many ways to the success that they attained in college and in their personal lives. While at ARC, she escorted the visually impaired students to more than 150 cultural enrichment activities. Kay served as advisor to the nursing students also. She assisted many nontraditional students, especially women re-entering the workforce, achieve their educational goals. In 1978 she received the ARC Patrons Award for her work. When she retired in 1993 at the age of 77, she was commended for her contributions to public education in California by a resolution adopted by the Senate Rules Committee of the California State Legislature.
Kay was a member of P.E.O., a philanthropic and educational organization. For many years she chaired the scholarship committee, which assisted deserving women with financial challenges in pursuing higher education.
She was a loving wife and mother, a caring friend, and a woman with a strong work ethic. Additionally, she had a lifelong love of dogs, art, travel, and the world around her.
Kay Stewart passed away on October 15, 2010 in Carmichael at the age of 94. She was survived by her husband of 69 years, Robert R. Stewart; daughter Katherine (Sam) Winston of Robstown, Texas; daughter Elizabeth J. Stewart of Tempe, Arizona; son Robert R. Stewart of Carmichael, California; daughter Barbara J. Stewart of Cardiff, California; and granddaughter Deborah A. (Stephen) Blume and great-grandson Tyler W. Blume of Corpus Christi, Texas.