- Date Of Birth: April 23, 1923
- Date Of Death: April 6, 2023
- State: Mississippi
Katie Frances Hollis Fields Stewart
April 23, 1923 – April 6, 2023
Katie Frances Stewart passed away on Thursday, April 6, 2023, at the age of 99. She was born in Dyersburg, Tennessee, and grew up in Hickman, Kentucky, a small town on the Mississippi River. She moved to Pascagoula in 1957 with her husband, Daniel L. Stewart, Jr., (who worked for Mississippi Chemical) and her four children. Katie worked for The Mississippi Press for 23 years, and after retiring, traveled frequently with family, friends, and church groups. She enjoyed saying she had traveled through at least 50 airports. Katie volunteered for both the First Baptist Church and the Singing River Hospital Auxiliary. At the SRH Auxiliary she won several awards, the last recognizing her as the oldest active member. Katie also volunteered through the years in organizations involving her children. In the 1970’s, she won the Pascagoula Volunteer of the Year Award.
Katie loved her job at The Mississippi Press. She was considered “the heart and soul of the newsroom.” Besides writing articles for the paper, she was multiskilled as a proofreader, copy editor, librarian, grammarian, and weather reporter. Katie had many talents – writing, drawing, singing, and dancing. She was an avid reader and also loved to play cards, dominoes, and work crossword puzzles, proudly completing them with an ink pen.
Preceding Katie in death were her parents, Jesse James Hollis and Myrtle Bell Hollis of Hickman, KY; her husband, James Buel Fields (pilot of a B-17 and killed in WWII) and her husband, Daniel L. Stewart, Jr.; her daughter, Katherine Ann Stewart; a twin brother to her son Richard; her sister, Virginia Hollis Devers of Amory, Mississippi; her brother, James Hollis of Boerne, Texas; and her sister, Louise Hollis Blaize of Boerne, Texas.
Katie is survived by her four children: Betty Fields Thornton (Wayne, deceased), Henderson, NV; Richard Stewart (Minerva), Palm Bay, FL; Nancy Stewart Gericke (Frank), Springhill, TN; and Patty Stewart Parker (Paul), Helena, MS. Her only living sister, Nancy Hollis Puckett, lives in Bartlett, TN. Step-Children: Dan Stewart III (deceased) and Carolyn Stewart Barrett (Jerry), Birmingham, AL. Grandchildren: Jill Thornton Corbeille, Henderson, NV; Dominique Stewart, Jacksonville, FL; Becky Overby Welsh, Pascagoula; Phil Overby, Yamato, Japan; and Drew Overby, Pascagoula; Susan Stewart Boston, Ft. Collins, CO; Jay Stewart, Wenatchee, WA; Emily Barrett, Cary, NC and Jeffrey Barrett, Warrior, AL. Also, Sacha Desdames Mora, North Miami Beach, FL; Jim Muller, Sault Ste. Marie, MI; Ben Muller, Westbrook, TX; Chad Parker, Grand Bay, AL; Tia Garriga, Pascagoula, and Zach Parker, Miami, FL; Great-Grandchildren: Devyn; Kyle, Abby, and Emma; Braxten and Cameron; Ben; Bryant, Alec and Corra; Abe and Geneva; Henry and Hazel; Christian and Ana Misha; Jaxon, Jordan, Paisley and Weston; Heath and Pierce; Payton and Gavin; Jonah, Mila, and Freya. Great-Great Grandchildren: Ariana and August. To her family, Katie was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother (MawMaw). To her many lifelong friends, she was loyal, fun, and compassionate. She was forever dedicated to The Lord, as well as to her church.
