Maurine Myrtle (Nichols) Stewart

Maurine M. Stewart, 98 years and 17 days young, passed away Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

Maurine was born Aug. 26, 1921, outside Parma, Missouri, to Murray E. and Ollie M. Orr Nichols, the oldest of eight children. She married James A. Daniels on Nov. 19, 1939. James was killed Oct. 7, 1945, in France during World War II. She married Stancil J. Stewart on Oct. 20, 1948. He passed away Aug. 13, 1976.

She lived many places in her life, making lifelong friends everywhere she lived from Gideon, Dexter and Bloomfield, Missouri; Vandalia, Illinois; St Louis; and finally settling in Cape Girardeau in 1966. She lived as a homemaker most all her life, until the death of her second husband. At the age of 54, she went to work for many years at the Farm Bureau Insurance office in Jackson, finishing her working career at Cast Aways in Cape Girardeau, when she was in her late 80s. 

Maurine was a member of Grace United Methodist Church. She was a worthy matron of the Eastern Star Madonna Chapter Number 314 of Clarkton, Missouri.

Maurine loved people, loved helping people, never met a stranger and always had a smile and a word of encouragement when it was needed. She loved her family. She never missed a beat as a mother. She was old school: three meals a day, washed and ironed clothes, never a wrinkle.

She suffered many heartaches in this world, and you could never really tell, even in losing two children and a grandson. She kept her very strong faith in God, knowing that, whatever happened, it was God’s plan. One of the last things she told her family was, if you have Jesus, you can’t go wrong. She lived her life by those words, and today she is with Him in Paradise.

She is survived by her children, Gloria J. Cowart of Malden, Missouri, and her two children, Kevin (Rena) Mauldin of Malden and Shawna (Donnie) Glueck of Gordonville; Karen E. Stokes of Malden and her three children, Jeffery (Joyce) Stokes, Danny (Janet) Stokes and Kari (Jamie) Broom, all of Malden; Stancil J. Stewart of Gordonville and his daughter, Heather Fletcher of Shelbyville, Kentucky; MaeBeth (Steve) Wessell of Gordonville and her two children, Jennifer (Billy) Wallis of Millersville and Jasen (Alissa) Wessell of Jackson; Mark L. Stewart of Jackson and his son, Matthew L. Stewart of Cape Girardeau; great-grandchildren, Jo (Christopher) Wick of Kansas City, Kyle Mauldin of Malden, Audrey (Brandon) Mcalister of Scott City, Casey Crichton of Joliet, Illinois, Danielle (Dustin) Ammons of Kansas, Anna (Robert) O’briant of Indiana, Sara Cobb (Anthony Cook) of Dexter, Eric (Nena) Shannafelt of Dexter, Hayden Broom and Alyssa Broom, both of Malden, Raquel Fletcher of Shelbyville, Makenna Wessell, Hayden Wessell and Brysen Wessell, all of Jackson, Alivia Stewart and Abigail Stewart, both of Florida, and Tucker Lee Stewart of Cape Girardeau; and 10 great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her two husbands; daughter, Rhonda M. Stewart; son, Dennis E. Stewart; grandson, Paul E. Stewart; great-granddaughter, Kali Stokes Lovati; and many, many more relatives.

Visitation will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday at McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Wayne Schwiesow officiating. Interment will be in Malden Memorial Park Cemetery in Malden.

She was the Sunshine in the day, the laughter in the air, and the glue bonding her family together. She will be missed by many and a very special friend, Betty Schweppe, who spent countless hours with her. The light in her family’s world is dimmer, but Heaven is illuminated brighter today, for Maurine is at peace where there is no more pain or sorrow

The family suggests contributions be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Zion Lutheran Church of Gordonville.

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