Melvajeane Brown Daye "Melva" Stewart

Melvajeane was born and raised in North Carolina. She attended high school in Durham and was the first black student to integrate the all-white high school there. After graduating, Melvajeane left North Carolina to study English and sociology at Spelman College in Atlanta. There she met and married Michael Stewart, who had recently returned from service in the Vietnam War.

Melva was one of the first black flight attendants for Delta Airlines and the first woman of any ethnicity to continue to be a stewardess after becoming pregnant.

Melva lived in Atlanta for over 40 years. In 2007 she moved to Missoula, where she lived alone with her cat Henna.

Melva struggled with physical pain and hardships throughout her 67 years, yet through it all she remained incredibly kind-hearted and deeply spiritual. She had a generous and nurturing personality and delighted in caring for children, animals and plants. Melva also loved words, and was a skilled writer and storyteller.

Melva Stewart had an inner strength and grace of spirit that will not be easily forgotten. She is survived, and dearly missed, by her daughter and son-in-law, Daye and Jeff Piotrowski (Wisconsin); along with her sister, Aletta Wilson (Washington); and her youngest sister, Callie Wilson-Minott (Georgia); as well as her two grandchildren, two nieces and one nephew.

If Melva Stewart or anyone like her has touched your life in a meaningful way, we ask that you make a donation to Hospice of Missoula in her name.
Read Melvajeane Brown Stewart's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.