Albert Stewart was a man with a dream, as well as a big heart

Written by Sonya (Stewart) Eddy; reposted with the author’s permission

Albert Pearson Stewart was a man with a dream, as well as a big heart. As I have stated before, he had a dream to start an official choral music program at Purdue University. It took him 3 years to convince the president and trustees of the university to do so but he did not give up!! That program officially began in 1933 and as of 2022 it is still going strong.

The above paragraph describes my father in a nutshell! If he believed in an idea or a person he would go all out to develop the idea or help the person. One of his favorite things was to introduce couples to each other if he thought they would be great together and he was usually right on the money.

As I think back I realize that I (and others) always knew where my father stood on a subject. An example of this that I will never forget is when John and I came home to visit from Tennessee and brought our dog with us. We went out with friends for the evening and left the dog at my parents’ home. While we were gone the dog got out and my father had to get into the car to chase it. When we returned to the house my father met us at the door and said, “You can come home and bring as many grandchildren as you want, but don’t you ever bring that d___ dog here for us to watch again!”

So many great memories of the man I called “Daddy”!!

Commentary

More from Sonya:

I am writing a brief story of my life thru Storyworth.  The question this week was something I remember about my father.  This was my answer.  I had already told the story about how he pursued his dream until he saw it completed.

So many stories!! How many people can tell about their first grade son getting in trouble at school because he told his teacher the unbelievable story of being with Bob Hope over the weekend?  Or have another son ask the Baha Marimba band members if they were hippies while watching them in his grandfather’s bar?

As I say-  So many stories!!  (BTW [re: the Baha Marimba band]  the answer was “No!  We have to look like this to make money!”)

My father was a man who lost his father at the age of 14 and he was fortunate to have wonderful Christian mentors who told him to strike for his dreams.  Thank goodness it paid off for him and for his family as can be determined by our stories!!

Paul L. on 10/17/2022

I was a member of the Glee Club in the early 60s.  One of. the things that I remember about Al was his comments on may diverse topics that provided his philosophy on what he thought we should consider in life.  I remember one particular moment when he said”. I don’t know how much money I earn and the day I do it will be time for me to retire!”

I have sung with several organizations ofver the years with a vast collection of conductors.  I sure would like to have sent them to one of Al’s Rec 502 conducting classes.  Several of these conductors are well known on the international stages.

Finally, my dad was one of the initial Glee Club members.  Dad graduated in 1936

Jim Burich on 10/18/2022 from Cincinati, OH

Jim,

Did Al really teach a conducting class at Purdue? I had no idea.

Paul L. on 10/19/2022

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