As the nation pauses this week to honor mothers, we turn our hearts and minds to the women who have shaped generations—not just with words, but with unwavering commitment, faith, and sacrifice. In Ouachita Parish, one name still stands out above the rest: the late Asberry Stewart.
Mrs. Stewart, along with her husband, the late Rev. J.J. Stewart—former pastor of Greater New Hope Baptist Church—holds a unique place in local history. Together, they were the proud parents of 24 children, a record for our area that still remains unmatched and likely never will be broken.
What makes her story so extraordinary is not just the number of children she bore, all by the same man, but the spirit in which she raised them.
Without relying on government assistance, without the aid of modern technology or conveniences, Asberry Stewart managed a household many today could scarcely imagine. She was resourceful, organized, frugal, and fiercely faithful. Though considered poor by economic standards, she enriched her children’s lives with something no money could buy: love, structure, and purpose.
Her children flourished. They respected the law, did well in school, many graduating from college and becoming professionals. Church was a regular part of their lives, and home was a place of laughter, learning, and love. Mrs. Stewart praised her children’s successes and prayed over their setbacks. Her faith was firm, her guidance gentle, and her heart open.
In her later years, as her strength faded, her children repaid her years of sacrifice with devotion. They rotated care, traveling from across the country to relieve the sibling who lived nearby. Eventually, they carried her home with them, one by one, until God carried her to her final home.
Mrs. Stewart represented a generation of “old-school” mothers who made miracles out of little and loved without limit. Her legacy lives not just in the number of children she had, but in the way she raised them.
We continue to honor the late Asberry Stewart, a mother like no other.
