Lasting Memories

Nancy Stewart
1959-Aug. 13, 2010
Menlo Park, California

Nancy Stewart, 51, a resident of Atherton and Menlo Park, died unexpectedly from a heart arrhythmia episode that took place Aug. 6 and led to her death on Aug. 13, 2010.

Born in San Francisco, she moved to Atherton with her family in 1965. She attended Castilleja School and graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in history. She was a member of the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society and Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

In event management for most of her career, she coordinated the international conferences at SRI International and later worked as a manager of executive conferences at Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International in San Jose. In that position she traveled all over the world and enjoyed the excitement and challenges of running conferences overseas, say family members.

In 2006, she became event and volunteer manager at Children's Health Council, where her primary task was handling all management aspects of the Summer Symphony fundraising event at Frost Amphitheater.

She volunteered for a number of nonprofit organizations. She served as president of the Castilleja Alumni Board and a number of other committees connected to the school. She served as president of the USC Golden Gate Alumnae Club board, as well as a member of the USC Bay Area student recruitment committee. A founding member of Foothill Auxiliary, a fundraising branch of the Family Service Agency of San Mateo County, she recently served as the board's secretary. She was a former member of the Junior League and the Committee for Art at Stanford.

Her gracious style and many talents were widely admired, said family members. Cooking was her passion and photography, needlepoint, and gardening were significant hobbies. She considered London her home away from home. Her final act of extreme generosity was as an organ donor, say family members.

Survivors include her father, Robert Stewart, and sister Ellen Stewart Moore. Her mother, Verna Stewart, preceded her in death.