On Thursday, June 20th, Jonathan Stewart passed away at his home in Water Valley, MS. He was born on September 11, 1984 in Oxford, MS to George Stewart and Bonnie Holland. He attended Lafayette High School, and started his journey as an electrician at eighteen. He met his wife, Candece, and they were married in 2004. Their daughter, Jazmin, was born in May of 2006. Jonathan spent the last twelve years of his twenty-year electrical career at Rhobina Electric.
Jonathan was an avid outdoorsman and loved to hunt, fish, and kayak. His greatest enjoyment came from sharing experiences with his family and friends handfishing in Enid Lake and fishing from the piers off the coast although he often spent more time setting up poles and baiting hooks for everyone else. He embraced the chance to surprise a friend by showing up to her birthday in a unicorn blowup suit riding in the back of a jeep dancing to Prince. He single handedly pulled loose a canoe that was crushed against rocks by the current on a Spring River rafting trip. At the request of his daughter he went on an excursion to swim with sharks only to leave the experience comparing himself to a fur seal and crank bait. Jonathan was proud to pass on his knowledge of animals and survival skills to his daughter and always encouraged her to pursue her goals in life. Those that knew him were fortunate enough to know what it was like to truly laugh and enjoy every moment even when times were tough.
Even in his shortened life, the stories that could be told of his bravery, strength, and humor is enough to fill books. But it's the little things that will be forever irreplaceable and missed most of all; the peppermint and whiskey he made his family when they were sick; the breakfast gravy and chocolate gravy that only he knew how to make just right; and, the way he shared his food because his always seemed to taste better. Jonathan was an expert at the claw machine and lit the fireworks on the 4th of July and New Years. He created his daughter's birthday cake from scratch every year and was the fixer of his wife's baking fails. He helped build the corona hut, unload dryers, and patch tires. Even in death, he is our strength, our protector, and our reason to persevere.
Jonathan is survived by his mother and stepfather Bonnie and Jimmy Holland; his wife and daughter, Candece and Jazmin Stewart; his sisters, Natasha Rogers (Sonny Rogers) and Renee Holland (Bubba Mclendon); his nieces, Destyne Rogers (Allen Jaco), Gabriel Rogers, Elizabeth Wakefield, Malia Wakefield, and Maddy Wakefield; nephews, Carson Breland, Gavin Wakefield, Malachi Hairston, and Asher Allen; great nieces Lillian Jaco, Emryn Jaco, and Blakeleigh Riley, along with uncles, aunts, and cousins.
Jonathan is preceded in death by his father, George Stewart; grandparents George and Shirley Stewart and Elvis and Jeanette Redwine.