Mrs. Jewel Clark Bartholomew, 99, died Thursday, January 3, 2008 at Franklin Regional Medical Center.

Mrs. Bartholomew was born in Granville County and was the daughter of Edmund D. Clark and Blanche Adcock Clark. She grew up in Virgilina and moved to Louisburg to live with her Aunt Ruth Leonard to attend high school. She graduated from Louisburg College in 1926, where she was known as “the attractive Senior with the merry twinkle in her eye—the Jewel of the Class”. She carried that twinkle and joy in life with her throughout her days. After she saved enough money by teaching in the Franklin County Schools, she completed her education at Breneau College in Gainesville, Georgia. Jewel married Harvey Thomas Bartholomew of Louisburg on May 18, 1933 in Scottsburg, Virginia. They were happily married until his death August 1, 2005.

Jewel will be best remembered by the lives she touched throughout her years as a teacher.

She taught briefly at Louisburg College and once her daughter, Emma Ruth, entered first grade, she taught at Louisburg High School until her retirement. Throughout, she also taught a Sunday School class at Louisburg Baptist Church. It began as The Young Married Class, but it was eventually named the Jewel Class, in her honor.

Jewel lived her life with a strong faith in God. She taught her students to expect and give only their very best, she taught them the importance of “stickability”, and she lived her life graciously and kindly. She took great pleasure in reading, bridge, and working crossword puzzles. The missionary society and the O. Henry Book Club were important parts of her life.

Jewel is survived by her daughter, Emma Ruth Stewart, and her husband, Dr. Paul W. Stewart, Jr. (Buddy); by her beloved grandsons, Paul W. Stewart, III of Raleigh and Christopher Bartholomew Stewart of Wrightsville Beach. In addition, she is survived by her sister, Mrs. Anne Sellers of Naples, FL, and her sister and brother-in-law, John K. and Mary Ruth Nelms of Oxford. She will be greatly missed by a number nieces and nephews: James A. Leonard, Helen A. Garrison, Martha A. Furst, William T. Bartholomew, Helen C. Rogers, John C. Rogers and Tommy Shinn.

Funeral service will be 3 p.m. Sunday at Louisburg Baptist Church with Dr. Reggie Rushing officiating. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery. The family will receive friends 7 – 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Strickland Funeral Home, 103 W. Franklin St., Louisburg.

Flowers will be graciously accepted, or contributions may be made to the Wanda Walters Scholarship Fund, Louisburg Baptist Church, PO Box 730, Louisburg, NC 27549.

Jewel lived her life fully, giving unsparingly of herself to her husband, daughter, friends and students. She will be fondly remembered, for “To live in the hearts of others is not to die.” (Anonymous)

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