Iona “Pat” (Stetson) Steward, of Waterville, passed away peacefully with family by her side on Sunday, August 23, 2026, at Woodlands Memory Care, at the age of 100, achieving the goal she set for herself when her own mother died just weeks before her 100th.

She was born in Durham, Maine on November 20, 1925, to Chester and Alice (Goldrup) Stetson. She was the 7th oldest of 13 children.

Pat attended Skowhegan High School and faithfully went to her annual class reunions into her 90’s. She lived half her life in Skowhegan where she married her husband, Percy Steward, and raised her children, Roxy, Nancy, and Terry, while working at Maine Spinning Company. In 1972, having always wanted to live in a warmer climate, Pat moved to Florida to be near her sister, Alice. Upon her return to Maine in 1982, she lived in Waterville and worked at Cascade Woolen Mill until she retired in 1990. In her retirement she became a Foster Grandparent volunteering in local Head Start and childcare programs where children fondly called her “Grammie Pat.”

Pat liked cooking for her family, and found joy in feeding them, her extended family, and friends. She loved time spent at the family camp on North Pond, hosting her large family, fishing with Percy, driving the boat so everyone could water ski, and playing horseshoes. She enjoyed music, especially when her brother, Leo, would take out his guitar and sing. Well into her retirement she kept up an active social life, going dancing at the Melody Ranch, taking boat trips to Cabbage Island for lobster bakes, and lunching with family and friends. Pat enjoyed traveling to Arizona, California, and Hawaii to visit family, as well as the experience of going on a Caribbean cruise. She especially loved having the time to attend her grandson, Nicholas’s, hockey games, from peewee through high school. Pat was a member of the Skowhegan Eagles and American Legion Auxiliaries.

Pat is survived by her children, Nancy (Jim) Poulin, Terry Steward; son-in-common-law, Kevin McMurry; grandchildren, Lisa Lemelin, Robyn Harwood, Stacie (Joe) Knowles, Jennifer (Bob) Calabro, Andrea (Jim) Broughton, and Nicholas (Linda) Steward; great grandchildren, Brandie Bean, Katie Lemelin, Emily Broughton, Caleb (Megan) Broughton, Bobby Calabro, Benjamin Calabro and Samuel Calabro, sister, Jeannette White; and many nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her parents, Chester and Alice; her ex-husband, Percy Steward; her daughter, Roxy Getchell; her siblings, George Quinn, Raymond Quinn, Everett Quinn, Evelyn Lavoie, Herbert Quinn, Gladys Seavey, Leo Stetson, Clarence “Jimmy” Stetson, Harvey Stetson, Alice Marsh, and Lawrence “Stubby” Stetson; her granddson-in-law, Jay Lemelin; as well as several nieces and nephews.

A special thanks to all of the staff at Woodlands Memory Care in Waterville and the staff from Andwell Health Hospice for the wonderful care and kindness shown to our mother over the past 3 ½ years.

A memorial service will be held on October 10, at 10:00 a.m., at the Somerset Valley Remembrance Center, 19 Washburn Lane, Skowhegan, followed by burial at Southside Cemetery, Main Street, Skowhegan.

Should anyone desire, memorial contributions may be made to a charity of your choice.