Patricia Fredriksen Stewart

The Rev. Patricia Ann Fredriksen Stewart died on September 5, 2016. Pat, as she was familiarly known, was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, and servant of God. She was born in Lancaster, PA, Nov. 8, 1931, to Jennie Mae Connell and Norman Fredriksen. Pat's father died when she was still a toddler, and Pat and her mother moved to Raleigh, NC. She graduated from Broughton High School in 1949 and was valedictorian of her class. She attended Agnes Scott College and was a graduate from Woman's College of UNC, now UNC-G, in the class of 1953. Pat married John Bruton Stewart of Fayetteville, NC on September 8, 1953. While John completed his graduate studies at Northwestern University, Pat worked as a lab technician for G.D. Searle Pharmaceutical Company. After his graduation John joined the technical staff of Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey, and so Pat and John established their family, first in Morristown, NJ and then in Winston-Salem. They have two daughters, Lyn and Kristin, and two sons, John, Jr. and Michael. During her children's early years Pat participated in many church and community activities in Winston-Salem. At First Presbyterian Church she was active in the Covenant Sunday School Class and the Women of the Church and she sang in the choir. She sang in the Singers Guild of Forsyth County and served as president of Singer's Guild when it joined the Symphony Association as the Winston-Salem Symphony Chorale. She also served on the boards of the Symphony Guild, the Symphony Association and as president of the Symphony Chorale Council. When Pat and John moved back to New Jersey in 1977 Pat entered Drew Theological Seminary, where she graduated magna cum laude. She was ordained to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in 1981. She served churches in Chatham Twp, NJ, and Greensboro, Lexington and Winston-Salem. Pat's ministry focused on Christian education and she earned her certification as a Christian Educator in the Presbyterian Church (USA). She was active on many levels of Salem Presbytery before retiring in 2004. She has said that for her, one of the greatest pleasures in her ministry was the privilege of baptizing each of her grandchildren. Pat always enjoyed traveling, and while the children were growing up, family camping trips took them to many areas of the country to visit historic and natural sites. In later years she most enjoyed traveling to visit her family and indulging in her favorite hobbies, bird-watching and growing roses. Pat started singing when she was just 3-years old and continued all her life through her years in the Winston-Salem Symphony Chorale.
Pat is survived by the love of her life, her husband John for 63 years, her daughters Carolyn Heath, and Kristin Stubbs (Brian); her sons John, Jr. (Suecia), and Michael (John); granddaughters Jennifer Heath Edmondson (Nate), Cate Stewart, and Ashley Rice; grandsons John B. Stewart, III, Tyler Rice, and Connor Rice; and great grandchildren Cole, Karen, and Kendall Edmondson; her brother Mike Payne (Diane) of Raleigh, NC; many cousins and nieces; and friends of ""The Lunch Bunch."" A memorial service will be held at Highland Presbyterian Church, 2380 Cloverdale Ave., Winston-Salem, on Saturday, September 10, 2016 at 11:00am. A reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall. In lieu of flowers, the family suggest that memorial gifts be made to the Highland Presbyterian Church Building Fund, Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home, or The Winston-Salem Symphony Chorale.

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