Suzanne Renee Stewart, 70, of Greenville, passed away on Friday, November 10, 2023, in Greenville, Texas. Funeral services will be at 10:00 A.M., Monday, November 13, 2023, at Coker-Mathews Funeral Home Chapel with Mr. Steve Johnson officiating. The interment will be in Cumby Cemetery. Visitation will be 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., Sunday, November 12, 2023, at the funeral home.
Renee was born September 22, 1953, in Dallas, Texas, to Clifton Blakeway and Eleanor Smith Blakeway. She graduated from Hillcrest High School in Dallas in 1971. She graduated from East Texas State University in 1979 with a Bachelor’s in Education with Kindergarten Endorsement and then pursued her Master’s in Early Education. She made her 38-year career in teaching from 1979, retiring in 2017. Teaching was not only a job for her, but it was also her passion and calling in life. It has been said, if she could not teach a child to read, no one could. She was admired by her fellow teachers and staff and loved by all of her students. She spent many years dedicating her time to the children and youth at First Baptist Church. The biggest joy of her life was her family, especially her grandkids- she was always their biggest cheerleader. She loved cooking and sharing it with those she loved.
She is survived by her daughters, Mandy Stewart and husband, Jimmy El Zorkani, and Brooke Jones and husband, Cliff; grandchildren, Kurt and wife, Brooke, Morgan and husband, Juan, Zain, Layla, Austin, Diego, and Brooklyn.
She was preceded in death by her son, Michael Blake; her parents; and her brother, Bill Blakeway.
Pallbearers will be Kurt Jones, Cliff Jones, Jimmy El Zorkani, Juan Martinez, Bobby Fowler, Steve Oglesby, Raymond Cobbs, and Jim Folks.
Her special honorary pallbearer will be her grandson, Zain El Zorkani.
Thank you to Holly Deas, her dear friend and caregiver for 35 years, Family First Home Health and Hospice, Briarcliff Health Center, and her very dear cousin Marsha and girls.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to GISD Teacher Supply Closet- checks can be sent to Wesley Martin – Attention: Teacher Supply Closet, In Memory of Renee Stewart, 4404 Moulton St., Greenville, Texas, 75401.
