Elizabeth Dolores Stewart

DYER CHAPEL - Elizabeth D. Stewart, age 88 of Cookeville, TN, formerly of Orange County, California, passed from this life at Grandview Post Acute and was ready for the Lord to take her home on Monday, November 24, 2025. She was born August 8, 1937 in Fredericktown, PA to the late Giovanni "John" Francesco Camillo Burchianti and Clementa "Clementina" (née Bononi) Burchianti.

Elizabeth attended Heavenly Host Lutheran Church in Cookeville, and Messiah Lutheran Church when she resided in California for many years. She was a former associate of UCHRA in Cookeville, and previously worked for over 33 years in California as an accountant at Interstate Electronics, Anaheim Publishing, and Bell Pipe & Supply. She was known for being a very dedicated and hard worker who enjoyed accounting and who would not cease working on a task until she could consider it a job well done to her exacting standards.

Elizabeth doted on her family and was a very loving and caring mother and wife. She spent innumerable hours over nearly 40 years dedicated to caregiving to her daughter Kelly. "There was no better example of a mother's love for her child" according to her daughter Kimberly. She was steadfast in caring for her husband Carson during his very long illness. She was an animal lover who took such excellent care of her four-legged family as she did her human family, and over her lifetime counted at least eight dogs, two guinea pigs, and two cats amongst her fur family members. Her family, including the pets, appreciated her enormously, loved her unendingly, and acknowledged just how very hard she worked at her job and in taking care of her family.

She was known for her excellent taste and for keeping a lovely home, and to the delight of her daughters she colorfully decorated the whole house for every holiday. Her favorite holiday was Christmas and her Christmas trees were always festooned with beautiful ornaments, garland, and lights, and she had a gift-wrapping expertise that made people hesitate to open the too-pretty packages. She was always so generous with everyone and one of her joys was selecting gifts for family and friends as she always wanted people to be remembered and for them to feel special on birthdays and holidays. She had the most beautiful, perfect penmanship and receiving a card or letter from her was always a gift in itself; even the e-mails she sent were written on special electronic stationery. She was an excellent cook and always kept her family well-fed with delicious meals. Her holiday dinners especially were legendary meals of many beautiful dishes. She was Mrs. Stewart before there was a Martha Stewart. Elizabeth will be deeply missed and mourned by everyone who knew her sweet, kind, and warm soul.

Elizabeth is survived by her two daughters, Kimberly of Los Angeles, CA, and Kelly of Cookeville, TN, by her niece, Mary Jo (Rick) Keifer, by her two nephews, Timothy Rudziensky and David (Anne) Rudziensky, and by her many friends in Tennessee, California, and other parts of the country, all of whom she loved deeply. Elizabeth was so very appreciative of and dearly loved her friends Christy Crawford and Leslie Johnson, who have selflessly shown immense love and care to her especially in the last few months of her life and who have bestowed a life blessing and great deed upon her by wrapping up her worldly affairs, They, along with Pastor Todd Bunge, and her friends Marcia Hodges, Billie Glick, and Eva Gibson, continue to bless her daughter Kelly by ensuring she is properly cared for.

In addition to her parents, Elizabeth's loved ones who passed from this life before her include her husband, Carson C. Stewart, her three sisters Leda F. Odorcich, Norma P. Rudziensky, and Ada B. Richards, her brother Albert Burchianti, her brother-in-law Thomas Rudziensky, and her nephew John Paul Rudiensky.

A memorial service honoring Elizabeth's life will be held Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 2:30 p.m. at Heavenly Host Lutheran Church, 777 S. Willow Ave. Cookeville, TN. Visitation will be from 2:00 p.m. until service time at the church. Pastor Todd Bunge will officiate.

Dyer Chapel of Hooper-Huddleston and Horner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements (931)526-7158. You may share condolences and memories at www.dyerfh.com