TOM STEWART HONORED

     Former Dublin High School, coach, teacher, principal and superintendent Tom Stewart was honored on Friday with the dedication of a golf cart named in his honor.  The cart, one of two purchased through the efforts of his former students, Buddy Adams and Tom Proctor, was used in the 2016 Master Golf Tournament.  The carts will be used to ferry patients from the hospital to the parking lots.  One more cart will be dedicated soon. 

     Thomas Perry Stewart was born on February 21, 1923 in Camilla, Georgia. The son of the late Perry Stewart and Jo Camp, Mr. Stewart was preceded in death by his wife Peggy Smith Stewart.

     Mr. Stewart graduated from Valdosta High School and served his country during World War II as an aircraft mechanic with the Navy.

     Tom Stewart was a graduate of Stetson University with further degrees from Peabody College and the University of Georgia. 

     As Coach Stewart, he coached football in Quitman, where his team won the 1949 state championship. He was Georgia coach of the year in Bremen in 1952 and also coached in Dublin from 1953 to 1958.  His players contributed to Dublin’s first two state championships in 1959 and 1960. While he was not coaching, Stewart was one of the team’s biggest cheerleaders.

   Stewart was inducted into the Valdosta/Lowndes County Sports Hall of Fame and The Dublin Touchdown Club Hall of Fame. 

    You can always tell how someone knew him.  If you called him Coach Stewart, you were one of his players.  As a teacher, principal and superintendent you addressed him as Mr. Stewart.  And, well, if you were a friend, you called him Tom. 

     Mr. Stewart was principal of Dublin High School from 1958 until 1971, Assistant Superintendent 1971-1972 and Superintendent from 1972 until his retirement in June 1983. 

     Tom Stewart is the epitome of a member of the Greatest Generation. After returning home from the war he served his community in many, many ways.  It was what Mr.  Stewart and millions of men like him that made them the Greatest Generation.

     Mr. Stewart was a member of First Baptist Church for more than 60 years.  He served as a Deacon and Sunday School teacher. He loved his church, his family, all his many students from Dublin High School and the city of Dublin where he made his home and quietly served his community. A Life Member of the Kiwanis Club and a Hixon Fellow,  Mr. Stewart is the co-founder of the Bell-Stewart Scholarship Fund to encourage high school seniors to pursue education as their career choice. 

     Stewart served on the Laurens County Library Board, volunteered with Meals on Wheels, taught at the Chester prison and worked for the teachers and children of Georgia through the Professional Association of Georgia Educators. 

     In the early 50’s, he operated the city pool in Dublin and I believe, taught many children how to swim.  

     Mr. Stewart died on  April 29, 2015.

     Therefore, it is only fitting and proper that this cart be dedicated to Tom Stewart so that all who ride in it to remember his contributions to our county.

BUDDY ADAMS