Valeria B Stewart

She was a long-time resident of the St. Dominic Catholic Village. Valeria was born to Paul Ulrich and Mary Josephine Bartakovic Ulrich at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Downtown Houston on April 28, 1919. Her parents, Mary and Paul, both immigrated from the Czech Republic.

Valeria attended Blessed Sacrament Elementary School and Jackson Junior High. She stopped attending school after the 8th grade and went to work at the Dairyland Ice Cream Plant. Her brother, William, delivered the popsicles, fudgsicles and ice cream bars to local businesses while Valeria worked in the plant making the products.

She met Dale Stewart while working at the ice cream plant and they were married on October 26, 1935 by a local justice of the peace. Dale soon converted to Catholicism and their marriage was blessed by a Mass on April 11, 1936. She was 16 years old. Valeria was a life-long member of the St. Christopher’s Catholic Church and was a member of the Catholic Daughters of America.

Valeria and Dale had three children – Leonard and Delbert Stewart and Ingrid Stewart Summerlin. They lived at 7816 Junior Street in Houston in a tiny two-bedroom house their entire married lives.

Valeria’s main concerns were her Catholic faith and her family. As an introverted simple woman, she worked hard as a wife and mother. She was very close to her parents and her siblings. Most Friday nights, the siblings would gather over her parents’ home on North Adams Street, to play games and cards. The children would play outside in the dark, sometimes getting into some good trouble. When her nephew, Andy, started playing football for the St. Thomas Eagles, the entire extended family would meet up at the downtown Coney Island Hot Dog restaurant and grab a hot dog, Fritos and a Coke. They would then make their way over to the football stadium to watch the Eagles and Andy play a typical Texas Friday night football game. On Sunday’s after Mass, the siblings and their families would make their way down to Clear Lake for a picnic and a day at the “beach.” Valeria was one of 10 children, one died at birth and her brother, Stephan, died as an infant. She was the eldest girl child and that came with much responsibility, which she took very seriously.

Valeria’s husband, Dale was 22 years old when they married and he working shift work his entire life for Shell Pipeline at the refinery in Houston. Valeria cooked Dale and her children a hot meal almost every day as eating out at a restaurant was saved for special occasions. She made sure Dale had a packed lunch every day as well as the children. She worked to raise the children often having to keep them quiet so he could get some much-needed sleep. Her job was to take care of the home and Dale and the kids so he could support their family.

Valeria was extremely encouraging of her children’s education. There was never any discussion about attending college. It was expected. Perhaps since her parents were working immigrants and she never even attended high school, education was foremost in her mind. They sent their children to St. Christopher’s Elementary School and then the boys attended St. Thomas High and Ingrid attended Mount Caramel High School. Although a parochial private education was no doubt expensive in those days, they believed that a good education was the very best thing they could spend their money on. Their investment paid off resulting in all three of their children graduating from the University of Houston. Her daughter, Ingrid went on, years later to earn a second college degree from the University of Texas Arlington and decades later, her first-born grand child earned her Ph.D. Education became a priority for the extended Stewart clan.

Valeria is preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Dale Stewart; granddaughter Sherry Stewart Kuss; niece Sandra Jenovski; and nephews Jackie Ferguson and Craig Ulrich. Valeria was the very last of all her siblings to die – William, Paul, Andre, Louie and Stephan Ulrich and Ellen Little, Pauline Ferguson and Claudia Robinson. She leaves behind a rich legacy of 8 nephews, 1 niece, 3 three children, 9 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and 14 great-great grandchildren.

A ceremony marking her life will be held on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 at 2:00. It will be held at the Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home Main Chapel and will be officiated by Deacon Fritz Claydon. All are welcome to gather at the Pappas BBQ afterwards as Valeria loved eating there throughout her life.