The Pagan Path

Those who wonder are not lost; they are trying to awaken! 'The Sleeper must awaken!'

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Rest in Peace, Mr. Stuart

What can be said about 'Bo', as he was called by all who knew & loved him? For many years, he was a Teaching Elder at Covenant Community Church, towards the end of which, he was afflicted by something called 'IEED', or 'Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder'. For several years, Bo persevered as a TE at CCC, but his condition worsened to the point that he felt he could no longer fulfill his duties, especially when further complicated in the last several years by yet another disease that was, for the longest time, misdiagnosed & therefore, mistreated. He will be greatly missed by all those at CCC, as well by the Greater Community of all those who knew & loved this gentle man, for, to know him was to love him!

As there are many others who were more closely acquainted with Mr. Stuart, it behooves me to allow them to recount that part of his tale. I can however, tell the part that I was privileged to partake in. I migrated to Whitehall, Montana in February of 2011 in the aftermath of a failed marriage in Wyoming. As I was staying with my sister & brother-in-law, who were a part of Covenant Community Church, I too began to attend fairly regularly. I had met Bo previously, though, as I remember, rather cursorily, quite a few years earlier, when my fiancee & I had visited. To make a long story short, when I began to sit under his teaching, as well as that of his fellow Teaching Elder, Tim Martin, I was immediately struck, not just by his intellect, but by his manner of teaching. Bo had a way of teaching that not only met one at their level but brought one up to his level. Although, for the past number of years, he was not able to fulfill his duties in the pulpit, his teaching will always be remembered!

In the early afternoon hours of Wednesday, May the 15th, Sidney ( 'Bo' ) Stuart passed from this life & now rests in the arms of his Lord & Savior. As a Christian for much of his life ( again, I'm sure there are those who can recount his story more completely ), Mr. Stuart believed fervently in life after death; that after this physical husk had breathed its last & returned to the dust from which it was made, there was More, gloriously so, in fact! Though Bo never, to my knowledge anyway, talked much about this 'afterlife', or even the fact that we as human beings, are More; I know that he held this Truth in his heart of hearts. As a unique human ( individual ) being, Bo was loved for the presence he brought to Covenant Community Church, but he was loved most of all for the Presence he manifested everywhere he went. His bodily presence will be sorely missed, but we know that his spirit remains, especially with those that knew & loved him!

In His memory,
Charles Haddon Shank

P.S. I probably am not the only one, but I think his IEED ( similar to 'IED'? ) was 'catching', as I seem to suffer from a similar affliction!

3 comments:

Edie said...

For many years, I have been spending several weeks of my summer vacations here in Whitehall with my oldest son, Tim Martin, and family. I loved Bo's teachings and his sweet spirit and wisdom. Long story short, I moved to MT in June 2013. I have continued to be blessed and taught by Bo and Tim until Bo had to stop teaching. But he also took time to help my #3 son and his wife with marriage counseling and the officiating at their wedding in Glacier. It was a very small wedding, but such a blessing to have Bo and Maggie there to celebrate with us. Bo cared about the problems of others! Just 4 years ago my youngest daughter married and chose to have a covenant marriage. Bo took out time to go with her to the social security office to get her name changed. Bo was not only a teacher, but one who lived what he taught. Selfishly, we will miss Bo, but rejoice that he will not have to fight his weakening body any more. We love you Bo and praise the Lord for your life. So glad that I can go to the computer and hear many of your sermons. Praying for Maggie and the wonderful families of his beautiful daughters, Ruth and Bethel

Edie said...

For many years, I have been spending several weeks of my summer vacations here in Whitehall with my oldest son, Tim Martin, and family. I loved Bo's teachings and his sweet spirit and wisdom. Long story short, I moved to MT in June 2013. I have continued to be blessed and taught by Bo and Tim until Bo had to stop teaching. But Bo also took time to help my #3 son and his wife with marriage counseling and then officiating at their wedding in Glacier. It was a very small wedding, but such a blessing to have Bo and Maggie there to celebrate with us. Bo cared about the problems of others! Just 4 years ago my youngest daughter married and chose to have a covenant marriage. Bo took out time to go with her to the social security office to get her name changed. Bo was not only a teacher, but one who lived what he taught. Selfishly, we will miss Bo, but rejoice that he will not have to fight his weakening body any more. We love you Bo and praise the Lord for your life. So glad that I can go to the computer and hear many of your sermons. Praying for Maggie and the wonderful families of her beautiful daughters, Ruth and Bethel .

bill said...

I too love his comical teaching style