Paul T. Stewart, Age 100, of Charleston, passed away Saturday, December 15, 2018, at Hubbard Hospice House, surrounded by his family.
Paul was preceded in death by his wife, Jean McDaniel Stewart; son, Roger Stewart; siblings, Mildred Hoskins, Grant Stewart, Carl Stewart and Hazel Varner.
He is survived by his wife, Sue; daughters, Donna Mullins and husband Fred, of Charleston, Elaine Midkiff, of Columbia, S.C. and Janet Smith and husband Dan, of Charlottesville, Va.; siblings, Earl Stewart, of Martinsburg, Rose Huggins, of Uniontown, Pa. and Pauline Gaskill, of Portland, Ore.; grandchildren, Roger Stewart, II, of Hurricane, Rodney Stewart and Cherin Stewart, both of Fairmont, Julie England, of Morgantown, Anna Summers and William Mullins, both, of Belle, Donovan Stewart, of Tornado, Alex Mullins, of Charleston, Colin Lyman, of Columbia, S.C., Tara Hildt, of Amesbury, Mass., Taylor Smith, of Lagos, Nigeria, Adam Smith, of Dallas, and 23 great-grandchildren.
Paul began his career in the school transportation industry as a substitute school bus driver, while tending to his dairy farm on Goshen Road, in Morgantown. He soon became Monongalia County Director of School Transportation for many years before accepting a leadership position with the National Safety Council, in Chicago, in the mid-1960’s. In 1973, Paul returned to W. Va. as the Director of Kanawha County Pupil Transporation. In 1976, he was appointed as the Assistant director for Pupil Transportation at the West Virginia State Department of Education, becoming the WV State Director in 1979 and serving in that role until his retirement in 1987. In this capacity, Paul developed local, state and regional innovative driving training programs and school bus inspection programs that have become models for many systems used throughout the country.
He was a past president and founding member (1968) of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transporation Services (NASDPTS). He was also a past president and founding member (1974) of the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT). In 1987, Paul was the first ever inductee into the NAPT Hall of Fame. Paul remained involved in these national associations subsequent to his retirement. He was recently an honored guest this past fall at the combined annual conference for both of these associations in Kansas City, Mo. shortly after his 100th birthday.
Additionally, and most importantly, Paul was an elder in the Church of Christ for many years. He often preached the gospel at his home Church of Christ congregation and at many Church of Christ congregations across the country during his frequent travels for the majority of his adult life.
Visitations will be at Cunningham-Parker-Johnson Funeral Home, in Charleston, from 4 – 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 19. and at Fred L. Jenkins Funeral Home, in Morgantown, from 2 – 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20. Funeral Services will be held at Fred L. Jenkins Funeral Home, in Morgantown, at 11 a.m. on Friday. Dec. 21. Burial will follow at Beverly Hills Memorial Gardens, in Morgantown.
Cunningham-Parker-Johnson Funeral Home and Fred L. Jenkins Funeral Home is serving the Stewart Family.
Condolences: cpjfuneralhome.com
