Retiree’s HPU involvement spans six decades

BROWNWOOD—Recent retiree Bobbie Jo Stewart spent 11 years as circulation and music library supervisor at Howard Payne University’s Walker Memorial Library, but her involvement with the university spans six decades.

“I was 5 when I started preschool at Howard Payne,” Stewart said. “It was on the bottom floor of what is now the Wellness Center.”

Bobbie Jo Stewart left the Walker Memorial Library circulation desk behind on her retirement.Nila Wright, whose husband, Felton “Pooch” Wright, was football coach at HPU, started the preschool program in the late 1940s for children whose birthdays fell outside the cutoff period for public school.

At age 11, she also began taking piano lessons at Howard Payne, which she continued until she graduated from college. Just three days after her high school graduation in 1961, Stewart sat in her first class—Music Appreciation—as a Howard Payne College freshman.

“I thought that I had finallyarrived because I was a student in a real college class at Howard Payne,” she said. “It felt special to me, even though I had technically been considered a student for a number of years.”

Fond memories

She fondly remembers her time as a student at Howard Payne, receiving instruction from faculty members, including the late George Baker, head of the music department, and the late Cleo McChristy, head of the English department.

“One interesting set of circumstances that I had not considered when I became a freshman at Howard Payne was that many of my professors had also taught my parents,” Stewart said. 

“I vividly remember the first classroom experience I had with Dr. McChristy. She called roll, and when she came to my name, she stopped and said, ‘Well, Miss Sims, are you going to be as smart as your parents were?’ Both my parents had been honor students, so I was constantly being compared. Consequently, I had to be on my toes all the time.”

On the music faculty

Stewart completed her five-year bachelor of music education degree in less than four years, graduating in August 1964. In the 1990s, she returned to HPU as an adjunct instructor in the music department.

Stewart also has taught private piano lessons and been involved in church music in the roles of pianist, organist or choir director more than 40 years.

She was sidelined following emergency open-heart surgery in December 1993. When her health permitted, she was eager to return to work at Howard Payne. She served HPU as a custodian for a few weeks prior to beginning her most recent role as circulation and music library supervisor in 2003.

Stewart has plans for her newfound leisure time.

“Oh, there won’t be any ‘taking it easy and letting the grass grow under my feet,’” she said. 

Chief among her priorities is finally beginning “married life” in earnest with her husband of almost two years, retired school administrator Wayne Stewart.

Health issues

“Within a few weeks after we were married, Wayne became seriously ill,” she recalled. “Shortly after he began to get better, I became ill with cancer.”

Successive health issues, combined with the death of their granddaughter, 2-year-old Parker in August 2014, took a toll on the newlyweds, but their faith in God carried them through the challenges.

“These difficult times have made us more aware of God’s grace and handiwork,” Stewart said. “One truly can find something beautiful in every situation, no matter how dire. Even though we plan to be busy in our retirement, it will afford us the time to reflect on the many blessings God has given us and be there for others going through tragic circumstances.”

Rapport with students

Nancy Anderson, who retired as HPU’s dean of libraries in 2014, noted Stewart’s rapport with students was her greatest strength as a university employee.

“Bobbie Jo was always smiling and greeted each person who came into the library,” says Anderson. “Not just with a casual ‘good morning,’ but with a genuine greeting that meant something.”

Stewart wishes she could continue that interaction with students.

“I told President (Bill) Ellis that I wish I could recruit from home,” she says. “My blood truly is blue and gold.”

That level of commitment among HPU’s faculty and staff is what makes HPU special, Ellis said.

“It is an honor getting to work with people like Bobbie Jo who care deeply about the success of our students,” he said. “We will miss seeing her smiling face and wish her all the best in her retirement.”

Stewart feels HPU possesses something many larger universities cannot offer.

“Not only is Howard Payne an institution of higher learning, but it also goes way beyond that,” she said. “Everyone on this campus is someone truly special. It feels like one big, closely knit family.”