Christine Stewart of Brewster, Mass., died peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, June 13 at the age of 91.
Christine Stewart, 91, passed away on Tuesday, June 13. A memorial service is scheduled for Aug. 5.
Christine was born in 1926 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Her father, Austin Bothwell, was a 1906 Rhodes Scholar, the first from the Northwest Territories of Canada.
Her mother, Jessie Robson Bothwell, was the first non-native female child born in Regina, Saskatchewan (formerly known as Pile of Bones), and later became the first woman to serve as the chief librarian of the Saskatchewan Legislative Library.
At the age of 16, her first love, an American in the Royal Canadian Air Force, was killed when on a mission over Germany. At about the same time, her older sister, Barbara Forbes, died when the ship she was aboard was sunk by a U-Boat.
Christine graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in journalism and worked for a couple of years in Regina and Victoria, British Columbia. In 1952, she married Willard Whyte Stewart, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
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— an obituary from Nickerson Funeral Home
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Will’s career with Exxon kept Christine and her family on the move. Over the years, they lived in Manhattan, Tuckahoe, N.Y.; Lima, Peru; Bogota, Colombia; Coral Gables, Fl.; New Canaan; Oakville, Ontario; and for 30 years, Darien, Connecticut.
In Darien, Christine was a member of the First Congregational Church of Darien, the American Association of University Women, and the Darien Community Association. She also was a stringer for the Stamford Advocate.
In 1984, Christine convinced Will to purchase a second home on Cape Cod in Brewster where they enjoyed many summers and eventually took up permanent residence in 2007.
In 2014, Christine published her World War II-era memoir, A Song of Distances. Christine was a 54-year breast cancer survivor, and a friend of Bill W. for 34 years, during which she was an inspiration for many mutual friends.
Chris is survived by her son James Austin Stewart and daughter-in-law Laurie Lathem of Brooklyn, N.Y.; her son, George Robson Stewart and daughter-in-law Lyn Stewart of Arlington, Va.; and four grandchildren: Matthew, Peter, Luca, and Rebecca.
In addition to her sister, she was predeceased by her brother, George Robson Bothwell.
The family requests that donations be made to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Aug. 5, 2017, at Sears Point, Brewster, Mass. Please see the Nickerson Funeral Home website for the memorial service details.