Amber Marysa Smith, 27, Vero Beach
Amber Marysa Smith, 27, of Vero Beach, passed away July 21, 2019.
The family will greet friends 3 – 4 p.m. on Friday, July 26, with a service beginning at 4 p.m. at Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory.
Carmen Eyvonne Stewart, 85, Vero Beach
Carmen Eyvonne Stewart, 85, of Vero Beach, passed away peacefully at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital at Vero Beach, on July 21, 2019. Carmen was born to Otto James Stewart and Louisa Brown Stewart on May 23, 1934, near Howard, N.Y., in the farmhouse of her maternal grandfather, Henry Coots.
Otto J. Stewart was an educator in New York and served as teacher, principal, and then district superintendent in his 35-year career. He also served for 28 years in the U.S. Naval Reserve including service during World War II and the Korean War. Louisa B. Stewart was a teacher and housewife. Both pre-deceased Carmen, dying in 1996 and 2017, respectively.
Carmen was raised in Hornell and Addison in Steuben County, N.Y., before moving to the Albany, N.Y., area soon after World War II.
She graduated from Delmar High School in 1952 and began her studies in education at Oneota State Teacher’s College, Oneonta, N.Y.
Her education was interrupted when she married Robert Willis on April 26, 1954, but she completed her bachelor’s degree in education over time even as she gave birth to their son, Alan, later that year and a daughter, Karen, three years later.
After her husband completed his service in the U.S. Air Force, she moved with him to Hawaii as he completed his degree and then to Cooperstown, N.Y., and Albany.
She taught school in Hawaii and New York for many years. She was divorced in 1972 after 18 years of marriage and continued to work in the Albany area as a third grade teacher.
She retired from teaching in the late 1980s. In retirement, she suffered through the tragedy of the premature death of both of her children in the 1990s.
Carmen retired to Florida, and, along with her partner, Jim Sleaseman, she enjoyed many years of traveling in their motor home. They particularly enjoyed travelling throughout America and especially to the Mississippi and Alabama coastline area and to Branson, Mo.
She is survived by two brothers, Robert and Richard (their wives, Patty and Lynn); four nephews, James, Justin, Christopher, and Conner; two great-nephews, Colton, and Ryan; and numerous grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the hospice of one’s choice.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24, at the Christ the King Lutheran Church in Sebastian.
Services entrusted to Strunk Funeral Home, Sebastian.
