Catherine J. Stewart, 81, the head librarian at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn for 21 years, died Saturday in Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.
Born in Richmond, Ky., Mrs. Stewart graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in library science. In 1953, she moved to Lombard, where she resided for 45 years.
Mrs. Stewart became a librarian at Glenbard West High School in January 1962 and retired in June 1983.
“Kay was a professional, one of those people who did the job the way it should be done,” said Glenn Flansburg, a retired assistant principal who worked with Mrs. Stewart when the school doubled the size of the library.
“She played an important role in creating an interschool borrowing system that allowed students in all four Glenbard schools access to whatever information they needed,” he said. “She always wanted to make the library more accessible to students, always wanting the best for them,” Flansburg said.
Mrs. Stewart loved to read and play bridge. She was a charter member of PEO Chapter IR, a sisterhood dedicated to education, and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and the Lombard Women’s Club.
Survivors include her husband, Thomas, to whom she was married for 53 years; a son, Thomas; a daughter, Penny Taylor; a brother; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will begin at 11 a.m. Thursday in Maple Street Chapel, Maple and Main Streets, Lombard.
