R.I.P. Mrs. Stewart

Patricia H. Stewart

5/17/1944 – 12/31/2013

 

The passing of Pat Stewart on New Year’s Eve is a sad event.  Our deepest sympathy is extended to her son, Nicholas, and the rest of her family.

Like many of her friends have already said, the loss is huge.

Mrs. Stewart, as most knew and addressed her, was an indefatigable defender and supporter of Trenton. She was an active member of several community groups, held appointed positions on the Zoning and Ethics boards, and was a member of Trenton’s historic St. Michael’s Episcopal Church.

Pithy, sharp of wit…and tongue, Pat Stewart was a tireless advocate for a better Trenton. Even as her health waxed and waned, her love for and belief in her adopted hometown never wavered.

Pat was old school, but not old fashioned. She believed in doing your homework, forming an opinion and expressing it with proper grammar and spelling.

She believed in right and wrong and in speaking her mind.

Pat Stewart was not born in Trenton; she did not grow up in Trenton or attend Trenton schools. Those minor facts did not make her any less of a Trentonian.

As the new year dawns and the campaigns for municipal office begin , candidates and voters alike would do well to ask themselves “What would Mrs. Stewart do” before acting on something or speaking on something.  Candidates and voters should not invoke their “Trenton roots” unless and until they can demonstrate the common sense, big hearted and sincere expression of their citizenship as Pat did.

It’s going to take everyone working together to fill the gap left in Trenton’s civic life by Pat’s passing.