Ethel Steward

Ethel Lucile (Jordan) Steward (94) of Denver, Colorado passed away at home on March 6, 2022. She was born the third of seven children on January 16, 1928 to Willard Glenn and Vera May (Barker) Jordan in Kansas City, Missouri. When she was around 3 years old the family moved to Grenola, Kansas, where she grew up and graduated from Grenola High School.

On July 3, 1949, Ethel married William (Bill) Edgar Steward (of Cedar Vale, Kansas) at the Grenola Christian Church. While Bill was serving in the U.S. Army, the couple lived in various locations including Tokyo, Japan, and the following U.S. states: New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Nebraska, and Kansas.

While still single and as a newlywed, Ethel worked as a civil servant with the U.S. Treasurer’s office in both Kansas and in Japan. Later, she and Bill owned Steward Studio (a professional photography studio), which they operated out of their home in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. After closing the studio, Ethel began a banking career. Shortly after Bill died in 1978, Ethel moved to Colorado to join family who were already living there. After retiring from banking, Ethel found her true passion: as a day care provider for the little ones. Throughout her life, Ethel had an innate ability to relate to and care for children. She loved them and they were drawn to her.

Ethel was a member of LIFE Church in Broomfield, Colorado. She is survived by her daughter Deborah Kay (Steward) Lockwood of Denver, Colorado; grandson Luke Alan and wife Lindsey Marie (McLeod) Lockwood; grandson James Evan and wife Jennifer Lynn (Oswald) Lockwood; granddaughter Catherine Margaret (Lockwood) and husband Brian Dean Hyde; three great-grandsons; brother-in-law Ralph Chapman Murrell; and also many nieces and nephews.

Ethel was preceded in death by her parents, Willard Glenn and Vera May (Barker) Jordan; her husband William Edgar Steward; her son-in-law Evan Mac Lockwood; her brothers Robert (Bob) Ray Jordan, Donald (Dick) Richard Jordan, and Carl Edward Jordan; and her sisters Mary Margaret (Jordan) Mathis, Glenna Jean (Jordan) Chamberlin, and Patrica Ann (Jordan) Murrell.

A memorial service will be held April 23, 2022 at 1:00 PM at Horan & McConaty Funeral Home, 7577 W. 80th Ave., Arvada, CO 80003. You can join the service virtually using the following link: https://bxcited.com/ethel-steward/ . Her ashes will be interred at the Cremation Gardens at Rocky Mountain Memorial Park in Denver, CO.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital ( http://giftfunds.stjude.org/EthelLSteward ). Arrangements are being handled by Horan & McConaty Funeral Home.