Dorothy Dean Stewart Zvara, 93, of Mauldin, South Carolina, formerly of Ferndale, Michigan, and Lakeland, Florida, passed away March 24, 2020, at home, with family at her side.
Dorothy was a devout Methodist and attended the Mauldin United Methodist Church. She looked forward to Sunday service and Bible Study. As her mobility became more difficult, the church provided her with a posted, named parking space. She was very proud of this designated space and made a point of showing it to all who visited her.
Dorothy loved to travel and visit new places. Her brother, Sam Stewart, of Fort Myers, Florida, recently mentioned that Dorothy told him, “Sammy, I feel like a monkey in a tree waiting for an elephant to walk by so I can jump on his back and go somewhere.”
Dorothy loved and was loved by everybody she met. She lived life to the fullest extent of her abilities right until the end. She didn’t know the meaning of “can’t.” She was also the family connector and historian and had papers and mementos to prove it.
Dorothy was born in Sparta, Tennessee, in 1926, and was the eldest of five children of the late Ona Mae (Hutchings) and S.B. Stewart. She was devoted to her parents and always lived close to them. She was their caregiver for all of their lives. Dorothy enjoyed living in Mauldin, close to her daughter, Mary, and grandchildren, but Sparta was” home.” She joyfully anticipated the yearly reunions with both sides of her family, the Hutchings and the Stewarts. Due to her health issues, the trips were increasingly difficult, but Dorothy never lost her spirit and determination to be there and encouraged other family members to do the same.
In addition to her parents, Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband of 48 years, August Zvara; her brother, Donald L. Stewart; and her sister, Kathryn (Stewart) Paul.
She is survived by her daughters, Mary Zvara Balan, Vlinda Zvara Valenti; four grandchildren, Michelle McCafferty Graves, Brandon McCafferty, Jennifer Balan Johnson, Christopher Balan; her brother, Sam; her sister, Wanda Fay Stewart Restrick; eight great-grandchildren; several nephews and nieces, especially Sarah Paull Colon, whom she raised from infancy; several great-nieces and great-nephews; and dozens of loving family members.
This is her legacy of a life well-lived and well-loved.
She will be interred in the Hutchings Family Cemetery, in Sparta.
Funeral service is pending at Hunter Funeral Home.
