EAST BERLIN Barbara Elaine (Rowe) Steward, 71, passed away on June 15, 2013. Born in Berwick [August 7, 1941], she was the daughter of Kenneth and Lois Rowe and sister, to Kenneth Rowe, Jr. She graduated from Berwick High School where she was an accomplished vocalist and a majorette. She was the Second Runner-up in the 1959 Miss Pennsylvania competition. After attending nurses training at the Williamsport Hospital, Barbara completed BS degrees in biology and education at Bloomsburg State Teachers College. She was an elementary school teacher in both Philadelphia and San Antonio, Texas. Her passion for travel led her to try a career as a stewardess for American Airlines. Later, she accepted a teaching position in Albuquerque, N.M., where she married her husband, Ron Steward, an officer in the United States Air Force. While in Albuquerque, N.M., she accepted a position working for a renowned team of heart surgeons and often remarked that the job had been one of her most rewarding. In the 1970's, she completed master's level courses in psychology at Central State University in Edmond, Okla. After the birth of her son, William Bruce, she became a dedicated military wife for over 20 years. Her favorite hobby was horseback riding; therefore, each of the family's numerous military transfers always included a horse. In 1983, Barbara won the Virginia State Championship in the American Saddlebred Three-Gaited Pleasure category. She also loved Dressage. In 2003, she returned to her native PA to enjoy retirement after living in eight different states (three of them more than once). She enjoyed numerous trips abroad in Italy and also Switzerland. She was an accomplished artist and a voracious reader. She was very active in her community, a member of the Lake Meade Homemakers and served on the library board for the East Berlin Library actively working to raise funds. She loved spending the winter in Florida. She loved watching collegiate and professional football as well as horse racing and dressage competitions and the Olympics. Her family knew that she controlled the TV remote on game days. Barbara is survived by her mother, Lois Rowe, her husband, Colonel (Retired) Ron Steward, a son, William Bruce Steward, his wife Debra, and a grandson, Patrick Aaron Steward, and numerous aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by her father, Kenneth W. Rowe and her brother, Kenneth W. Rowe, Jr. A private family service will be conducted at a later date. The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the East Berlin Community Library, 105 Locust St., East Berlin, PA 17316.

Published in Evening Sun on June 18, 2013

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Her Urn in inurned at her gravesite at Forest Park Cemetery near Anthony, Kansas. A cenotaph in her memory is located in the Jermyn Cemetery in Jermyn, PA.