Obituary of Laura Joanna Hester Stewart

Funeral services for Laura Joanna Hester Stewart, age 89, of Woodland, will be held Saturday, March 23, 2013, at 2:00 pm from Benefield Funeral Chapel with Bro. Clayton Scott officiating. Burial will follow at Rocky Branch Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on Friday, March 22nd. Mrs. Stewart died Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at Trinity Medical Center in Birmingham. Survivors include one daughter, Vernell Perry of Birmingham; three sons, George B. Stewart of Tarrant, Norman "Smokey" Stewart of Woodland and Keith Stewart of Douglas, Ga.; four sisters, Clara Rollins of Roanoke, Vivian Burdette of LaGrange, Ga., Eunice Stewart of Woodland and Fay Bennett of Wadley; six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Family members will serve as pallbearers. A Randolph County native, Mrs. Stewart was born January 5, 1924, daughter of Benjamin A. and Lula Duke Hester. She was a member of Rocky Branch Baptist Church and had retired from Roanoke Fashions. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Wilford Stewart; and four brothers.