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From friends of Dr. Stewart:
I am profoundly personally saddened by the passing of Felicia Stewart. She has been a colleague for many years and always a mentor, role model and friend. Even then, I didn't realize the extent of her accomplishments until the last few years. She truly was a staunch and passionate advocate for women and women's health.
When, as a representative of ACOG I testified for the FDA to make Plan B over the counter, I was sure that we would succeed. It was a great comfort to have Felicia in the audience that day, listening to the hearings and giving me the "high sign" after my presentation. We were giddy with the sense that emergency contraception would finally be easily accesible and available. I am sorry that she will not live to see that happen in the way that we had wanted. I hope that as in her life, we will continue to be encouraged and motivated by Felicia and that we will champion this and other causes which she believed in and advocated for—they are indeed the causes of and for women everywhere.
I will miss Felicia—there are none other like her.
Vivian Dickerson, MD
Immediate Past President, ACOG
Submitted on: Fri 4/21/2006 3:09 PM
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Felicia Stewart exemplified the unique passion and energy that inspired me as a young person working in reproductive health. In my early 20s, I landed the task of revising the American Medical Women's Association's model curriculum in reproductive health for medical schools. Felicia was one of the founders of AMWA's Reproductive Health Initiative and the original creators of the curriculum. It didn't take me long to realize what an amazing group of women (and a few men!) had made this curriculum happen, and their motivation for addressing medical education. Felicia had a significant impact on my professional development, confidence, and courage to stand up for what's right. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to cross paths were her, particularly in my formative years working in the field.
She not only talked about the value of education and the next generation of leaders, she walked the talk by empowering, trusting, and valuing those just starting out as colleagues right along side all the leaders we were constantly in awe of. She was uncompromising politically, and her courage on that front was also an inspiration and makes me feel her loss all the more in these difficult times.
Someone else mentioned her "Teaching the Why as well as the How" article - to me, her life and leadership demonstrated this crucial part of the work we all do. I know her legacy will continue to inform our work and we will be stronger and more successful for it.
Sarah Wilhelm, MPH(c)
International Training and Education Center for HIV/AIDS
School of Public Health
University of Washington
Submitted on: Thu 4/20/2006 6:29 PM |
I have been thinking so much of Felicia and her impact on myself, the staff at ARHP, and the entire reproductive health community, and I have been trying to come up with my strongest memory of her. Or rather, I have been trying to get PAST my strongest memory of her and think of something profound and appropriate.
The fact remains; that when I think of her—and I will always—what will come to my mind is the moment we shared in the ladies bathroom during a particularly difficult meeting. The two of us were dealing with a bit of a thorny situation and had just about run out of patience with the hodgepodge of folks around the table arguing about women's health. She had been quiet for a bit, listening intently with the intense stare she seemed to be the master of, and then she called for a break.
As she and I sat in our respective stalls doing the polite, silent, ladies room "thing", she called out "hang in there Liz, we'll get through this crap somehow." And then she walked back into the meeting, took her seat, seamlessly took control, and made everything somehow...all right.
Not only was I proud to be in her company in that bathroom, but I also was forever awed by this powerful and influential woman's ability to make every situation so very pleasurable.
Liz Callihan
Consultant, Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
Submitted on: Thu 4/20/2006 4:27 PM |
Felicia was a remarkable woman. She was a talented clinician, teacher, and leader who I was honored to consider a friend. I have to admit, my initial reaction to the photograph attached to this site was "but that isn't her!" because I don't think I ever saw Felicia without a smile. Despite the challenges ever in front of us, Felicia always had the good humor and perspective to remember that things could always be worse, that in fact, things are at any given moment worse for many on the planet, and that we must remember, every day, that we have truly been blessed.
Her offices (thanks in large part to the fabulous individuals she inspired to work with her) were an oasis of insight, wisdom, beauty, and peace, where one could envision almost any dream coming true. Felicia could always be trusted to "think globally, and act locally," with fearless determination. She was compassionate and kind, and she never wavered in her conviction that God wants us all to tell the truth and do what is right.
Among Felicia's greatest gifts to me was her gentle reminder that I must treasure the time that I was pregnant...that for all of the inconveniences and ackward discomforts of pregnancy, pregnancy remains a magical experience that must be savored and should not be taken for granted. To me, this more than anything, conveyed Felicia's profound appreciation of the miracle of life, and the great faith she felt must be placed in women's wisdom to decide if and when to expand their families.
I know she thought of her own children as among her greatest treasures and accomplishments, and have no doubt that her visions and insights will shape generations to come.
Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD, MS
University of Pittsburgh
Submitted on: Thu 4/20/2006 12:17 PM |
I was twelve years old when I got my first period. My mom was raised on a farm in North Carolina, and my dad was raised on a farm in Missouri. They had never discussed puberty or the dreaded "s-e-x" word with me. It wasn't that they didn't want to, or didn't feel it was important. They simply didn't know how or where to start. My mom came into my bedroom with a bright-red face and plopped a book down on my bed. She said, eyes on the floor, "I bought this book for you. If you have any questions, you can ask me." But, I got the strong feeling she'd be relieved if I didn't ask. The book was My Body, My Health: A Concerned Woman's Book of Gynecology by Felicia Stewart, MD, Felicia Guest, MPH, Gary Stewart, MD, and Robert Hatcher, MD.
This book was clearly not meant for twelve-year olds. It discussed, with plenty of medical terminology, reproductive organs, self breast-exam, methods of contraception, pregnancy, abortion, fertility problems, rape, and much more. But to a precocious girl yearning for information about her changing body and the secretive world of sexuality, it was a treasure trove of knowledge. In the years to come, it was a constant reference and a reliable source of unbiased information on topics that were, and still are, all-too-often taboo. That book was also an inspiration; it was the reason why I volunteered for Planned Parenthood during college, ultimately starting my career in, and passion for, public health.
Later, when I was working for the newly-formed UCSF Center for Reproductive Health Research & Policy, I learned that Felicia Stewart was coming to join the center as Co-Director. I thought to myself, "It can't be the Felicia Stewart. She's famous! She's the co-author of Contraceptive Technology, on the shelf of every family planning clinic in the country!" The next day, I was introduced to Felicia by Nancy Padian. I asked Felicia if she was the author of My Body, My Health, and she said she was. I immediately started gushing like a rock band's most faithful groupie. I told her how that book, given to me by my mother, had been a guiding force in my life. Beaming, she turned to Nancy and said, "I swear I didn't pay her to say that."
When I learned today that Felicia had passed away, I knew that there would be no shortage of tributes in her honor. Felicia had many roles in life, personal and professional--mother, daughter, wife, friend, co-worker, doctor, author, researcher, director, and champion. She will undoubtedly be praised as a pioneer, a part of the bedrock of reproductive health and reproductive rights. She was and will continue to be all this and more. To me, Felicia's presence and impact will live on. As a pebble drops into water and creates ever-expanding circles, so too will her influence continue to spread.
I hope each of us will continue the ever-expanding circles by choosing our own personal way to remember and honor Felicia. It can be anything--volunteering for the American Lung Association, mentoring a young person, donating to Planned Parenthood--anything. However Felicia made a difference in your life, pass that on, and then she is always with us.
Jessica Bowen Bazyl, MPH
Former UCSF employee
Submitted on: Thu 4/20/2006 11:51 AM |
In late 1992, my husband and I transferred back to Sacramento from the Bay Area. I contacted a former supervisor who now worked for a large medical foundation. She put me in contact with Felicia, who needed an administrative/research assistant for her private practice. I had been a patient of hers during college so I knew of her accomplishments and was appropriately intimidated!
What touched me the most about Felicia was her uncanny ability to put people at ease. She treated everyone with the same compassion and respect regardless of age, experience or credentials. I was used to people being unable to see beyond my hair color and youth, but Felicia was different. She encouraged, challenged, educated, protected and respected me as an employee and as a friend. She was supportive and understanding through my very difficult pregnancy even though I was unable to perform my duties effectively for several weeks.
When Felicia moved on to Washington DC, she asked me to come with her but it wasn't possible for my family to make the move. Before she left she worked to develop a clinical research department for the Medical Foundation, which provided me the opportunity both to coordinate the program and to avoid having to find another position elsewhere!
Although we lost contact over the years, I will not forget the positive influence she had on my life. Felicia, you are dearly missed.
Shannon Rusch
Submitted on: Thu 4/20/2006 11:26 AM |
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