EVERETT — Ann Stewart posed philosophical questions to her students. She read Hamlet aloud with them and encouraged them to use pens and paper to reflect on their lives. She rewarded work well done with Starbucks coffee and muffins.
“She wanted everyone to feel comfortable,” said Victoria Johnson, a fellow English teacher at Everett High School. “She wanted everyone to feel loved. She loved academia herself, reading and literature, but obviously she loved her students more.”
For 30 years, she taught in Everett schools, spending the last 20 at Everett High School.
On July 3, she died of cancer in her Edmonds home. She was 63.
A memorial service is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 24 at the First Baptist Church of Everett, 1616 Pacific Ave.
Nearly 100 people, including dozens of former students, wrote Stewart online tributes in the months before she died.
“It was sort of surprising for us to learn those last few months of her life, how highly regarded she was by the people at Everett High,” said her son Brian Stewart, 42. “She read a lot of those notes herself — and when she was too weak, she had us read them to her, so she was able to understand before she passed the impact she had on people.”
To him and his brother, Michael Bowker, 24, she was a wonderful mom who always seemed to be grading a stack of papers — even while she was preparing for dinner guests. She loved books of all kinds, exercised a lot and rooted for the Seahawks and the Mariners. She spent many evenings relaxing on the deck of the home she shared with her husband, Howard Bowker, watching the sun set over the Edmonds ferry dock.
“My mom was a real fighter — and someone who really stood up for her family in the most difficult moments and fought for her family’s survival and well being,” her eldest son said. “That’s what I think got her through. The doctors kept saying she didn’t have long to live and she always exceeded their expectations because she was a fighter.”
Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292, kmanry@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
