Fluker G. Stewart

Fluker G Stewart, Director Emeritus of College Relations at Valdosta State University, died December 27, 2006 at the Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville, Ga. He was 85 years of age.

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, he was a graduate of Boys’ High School where he was feature editor of the Tatler, the school newspaper, a member of the Debate Team, DeMolay and the Glee Club. He was also President of the Junior American Red Cross in Atlanta and a National speaker for that organization. In his senior year, representatives of the Atlanta high schools elected him youth Mayor of the the city of Atlanta, as part of a program sponsored by the Atlanta Lions Club. The position was to last one week, but due to the close lasting friendship he developed with then Mayor William B Hartsfield, he was referred to as the “Boy Mayor” for several years afterwards and was called upon to stand in for Mayor Hartsfield on numerous occasions. He attended the University of Georgia where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and the Master of Education in Counseling and Guidance. He served as official host for President Harman Caldwell for six years in the President’s Football Box and was editor of The Red and Black campus newspaper, and the Pandora, UGA yearbook.

He was a member and officer of a number of campus organizations including Sigma Delta Chi, Blue Key, Omicron Delta Kappa, Gridiron, Campus Post American Legion Demosthian Literacy Society. Mr. Stewart also received coveted membership in Sphinx, the highest honor the University bestows on male students.

Mr. Stewart left Athens to enlist in the US Army Infantry in World War II. eventually returning to the University to complete his graduate studies. Upon graduation, he became the first editor of the Atlanta Ford News for the then new Ford Motor Company plant in Hapeville, Ga. He left Ford when Caldwell asked him to set up an evening school call the Off Campus Center in Gainesville, Ga. Three years later he established another Off Campus Center in Columbus, Ga. These two centers became institutions of the University System, known today as Gainesville and Columbus Colleges.

Mr. Stewart joined GENESCO, then the world’s largest manufacturer-distributor of all things people wear, in Nashville, Tenn. He was editor of the Corporation’s 28 monthly employee publications. During this time he also served a president of the Bluegrass Golf and Yacht Club and as a deacon in the Presbyterian Church. He and his family remained in Tennessee 14 years before he became Director of Public Relations at Stetson University in Deland, Fla., and advisor for the chapter of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. Three years later, Mr. Stewart moved to Valdosta, GA. With the then incoming new president of Valdosta State College, S. Walter Martin. He served as Director of College Relations, the position he held until retirement in 1985.

During his tenure at VSC he hosted a weekly television show, Panorama, on an ABC-TV affiliate, was a member of the Gator Bowl Board and for more than 30 years, was active with Miss Georgia Pageants, preliminaries to the Miss America Pageants, and other such events through 45 years.

Mr. Stewart was active in Lowndes County activities and organizations, including the Boys’ Club, the United Way, Valdosta, Rotary Club and was frequently a guest motivational speaker throughout the South. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Valdosta.

Mr. Stewart is survived by a son, Jefferson M. Stewart and his wife Becky; two granddaughters Macy Stewart and Melissa Stewart all of Valdosta, and a brother Alfred W. Stewart and sister-in-law Sandy Stewart, of Buford, Ga.; a sister-in-law Joan K. Stewart of Ellijay, Ga.; nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Lucy M. Stewart and brother, James R. Stewart.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Friday Night, December 29, 2006 at the funeral home. As per Mr. Stewart’s wishes he will cremated following the Visitation. Memorial Services will be held at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, January 6, 2007 in the First Presbyterian Church of Valdosta. In lieu of flowers, the Stewart family is asking that donations be made to the Lucy Martin Stewart Voice Scholarship at Valdosta State University in care of VSU Foundation, Valdosta, Ga 31698. Sympathy may be expressed online at www.musicfuneralservices.com . Music Funeral Home Service of Valdosta is serving the Stewart family.