Velma M. Stewart
Velma M. Stewart, 100, of St. Paul, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at Brookefield Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation in St. Paul.
Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Dannebrog. Interment was in the Oakridge Cemetery in Dannebrog. Pastor Sherri Lodel officiated.
Congregational hymns included “In the Garden,” “Amazing Grace,” and “How Great Thou Art.”
Pallbearers were Chris Stewart, Austin Jisa, Rod Norlund, Brock Wyatt, Jon Metcalf, Todd Reinhardt, and Tracey Ryan.
Memorials are suggested to the Cairo Volunteer Fire Department and QRT in Cairo.
Velma was born on September 11, 1925, at home in St. Libory, to Hans and Martha (Teng) Leschinsky. She attended school in St. Libory. On March 20, 1947, she was united in marriage to Wayne Stewart in Smith Center, Kansas. In 1950, the couple moved to the family farm near Dannebrog, where they farmed and operated a Grade A dairy. In 1974, the couple moved into Dannebrog. In 1998, the couple moved to the Grandview Apartments in Grand Island.
Velma was a member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Dannebrog. She worked for Bell Telephone, the Cornhusker Ammunition Plant in Grand Island, and worked in the cafeteria for Centura Public Schools. Her hobbies included playing cards and computer games on her computer.
Survivors of the immediate family include four sons and their spouses, Tom Metcalf and Bob Fry of Ecuador, Lonnie and Aldene Stewart of St. Paul, Randy and Louise Stewart of Silver Creek and Rodney Stewart of Grand Island; fourteen grandchildren; twenty- eight great-grandchildren; and four great-great grandchildren.
Velma was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Wayne Stewart; infant daughter, Beverly Stewart; daughter, Deanna “Dee” Reinhardt; son, Eudell Stewart; one great-grandchild; one great- great- grandchild; brothers, Louie, Elmer, Ervin, and Arnold Leschinsky; and sisters, Myrt Buhrman, Alice Southard, Lorraine Wissing, and Marge Townsend.
Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.jacobsengreenway. com.