Betty Stewart

BETTY BLAIR DENIT STEWART, age 89, died at her home in Marion, Virginia, on Sunday, January 8, 2012. The daughter of Major Gen. Guy Blair Denit of Salem Virginia, and Virginia Buchanan Denit of Marion, Virginia, she grew up on Army posts, such as Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. But Betty Blair called Marion her home, because no matter where her father was posted, the family came to Marion to visit her grandparents for at least a month every year. Her grandfather was the distinguished Benjamin Franklin Buchanan, former State Senator and Lt. Governor of Virginia. Her grandmother, Eleanor Sheffey Buchanan, was a descendant of Col. William Preston of Smithfield Plantation, and a native of Marion. Betty Blair was a graduate of the College of William & Mary in 1942 and a Phi Beta Kappa scholar. She graduated from the law school of the University of Virginia, where she was editor of the Virginia Law Review, in 1945. She served as a civilian with the U.S. Army, later the Department of State in the occupation forces in Germany following World War II and as law clerk to the Chief Justice of the occupation court system. She became an expert on the Nuremburg Trials. During the Trials she met her future husband, Franklin Randolph Stewart, also a lawyer working as a prosecutor in the same court system. They were married in Heidelberg in 1949 and were in Berlin during the famous airlift that brought supplies to Berlin when the Soviet Union blocked access by land. Frank and Betty Blair were true partners in intellectual banter, political discussion, and, always, laughter. In 1951 they left Germany and moved to Pueblo, Colorado, near Mr. Stewart's home where they practiced law and Mr. Stewart served in the State Legislature. At the onset of the Kennedy Administration, they joined the diplomatic corps (USAID) to serve in Guatemala, setting their course for many years of service abroad. They also lived in Uruguay, Thailand, and Colombia. Between assignments, they were in Concord, Massachusetts, where Mr. Stewart pursued a degree at Harvard and Betty Blair became a founding member of the Boston Chapter of the National Organization of Women, publicly burning her bra to protest for equal rights. They returned to the United States for good in 1978, and lived in Alexandria, Virginia, where Betty Blair worked as an attorney for the Housing Authority. In 1989 they retired to Betty Blair's true home of Marion, Virginia. She was a member of the Royal Oak Presbyterian Church and a founding member of the Marion Historical Society. Betty Blair was especially proud of her work to have a monument to the soldiers of the Revolutionary War erected on the courthouse lawn in Marion, and of her efforts to ensure that the letters of Civil War hero John Preston Sheffey were preserved and published. She was an officer of the AARP and a member of the DAR and of the Democratic Party. She was a fervent champion of all people, community, and family. Betty Blair leaves to survive her, her most ardent fans: one son, Blair Franklin Stewart, and daughter-in-law, Marta Stewart, of Arlington, Virginia; one daughter, Courtney Randolph Stewart, and son-in-law, Dr. Scott Jamison of Christiansburg, Virginia; one beloved sister, Virginia Strong of Tucson, Arizona; three adored grandchildren, Colin Stewart Delaney of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mollie-Blair Haywood of Phoenix, Arizona, and Carlos Randolph Stewart of Richmond, Virginia; two great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins, including Cynthia Dee Buchanan of Denver, Colorado; Patrick and Hilda Buchanan of Roanoke, Virginia; Marshall Collins, Martha Copenhaver, and Susie Walker, all of Marion. She held dear her church circle and bridge club friends, and devoted caregivers. To those who knew and loved her, she will long be remembered as "the beautiful and brilliant Betty Blair." At her request, her body will be cremated and her ashes placed at the Buchanan Cemetery at Round Hill and other locations meaningful to her and her beloved husband. A memorial service will be held Sunday, January 15 at 2 p.m. at the Royal Oak Presbyterian Church, with Rev. Alan Gray and Rev. James Bangle officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Humane Society (for Lily), Smyth County Historical Society or any worthy cause. Seaver -Brown Funeral Services are in charge of arrangements. Blair and Courtney give special thanks to Elaine Lee of Sugar Grove for making it possible to keep our mother at home. Betty Blair loved her so very much. She brightened our mother's life and we could not have managed without her. Betty Blair would want us to thank her loving caregivers, Helen Barron, Margaret Minton, Heather Anderson, Anna Davis, Yalena Figueredo, Kim Breedlove, Janene Miller, and Megan Contrini, for their hard work and all of her faithful friends who continued to send cards and visit her on a regular basis.