Velma Lou Holland Stewart, 90, of Four Oaks, NC, passed away on Friday, August 24, 2012. Velma was born on March 16, 1922 on her family’s farm near Micro, NC, Johnston County, to Exum Wade Holland and Dessie Pearl Britt Holland. She attended Micro High School and graduated from New Hope High School, now Eastern Wayne, Goldsboro, NC, in 1939 where she was a basketball standout and Senior Class President.
Velma and her family relocated to their farm near Four Oaks, NC, in 1940 after their Goldsboro farm was purchased by the federal government to establish Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Shortly thereafter, she met her future husband, Herman Minson Stewart of Four Oaks and they were married on November 28, 1942 in Marion, SC.
She was a member of Stewart’s Chapel Church and she was a Christian who loved her church, family, and community. Velma enjoyed a good conversation, never met a stranger and always saw and spoke of the good in everyone she knew, regardless of their station in life. She enjoyed being a lady farmer while Herman tended to the family lumber business. She will be greatly missed by all of her family.
Velma was preceded in death by her husband on October 6, 1994 and a grandson, Lance Oatley Stewart on September 25, 1992. In addition, she was preceded in death by four sisters, Ruth H. Mozingo, Beatrice Holland, Vera H. Stewart, Penny H. Bullock, and two brothers, Marion Holland and Worth Holland.
She is survived by her sons, Wade M. Stewart and his wife, Jenny of Four Oaks, and E. Wayne Stewart and his wife, Julie of Four Oaks; grandchildren, Chad Minson Stewart and his wife Ursula of Four Oaks, Gregory Wade Stewart of Four Oaks, Jeffrey Wayne Stewart of Nashville, TN, Brittany Holland Stewart of Four Oaks and Hannah Kitchin Stewart of Durham, NC; great grandsons, Grant Minson Stewart, Andrew Lance Stewart, and Grimes Oatley Stewart, all of Four Oaks; as well as many beloved nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, August 26, 2012 from 1:00 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. at Rose and Graham Funeral Home, Four Oaks. Funeral services will follow at 3:00 p.m. at the funeral home chapel. Officiating will be Revs. Freddy Langston and Sherwood Lassiter. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park, Smithfield, NC.
The family would especially like to thank the staff and employees at Smithfield Manor, Inc. for their loving care and kindness.
Memorial contributions may be made in her memory to Stewart’s Chapel Church, c/o Nadine Rhodes, 1081 Joyner Bridge Road, Four Oaks, NC 27524.
Arrangements by Rose & Graham Funeral Home in Four Oaks.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.RoseandGraham.com.