Stewart retiring after nearly 30 years of service
Robbinsville – "You just sort of know when it's time to move on."
Carolyn Stewart joined the ranks of Graham County's Register of Deeds office in 1987 and was elected to the head position in 1998, a post she has held without interruption since.
Some 34 years after being hired as the deputy register of deeds, she is stepping away, with her retirement becoming official Monday. Deputy Register Kim Lequire will serve in the head role until the next election.
"I certainly feel blessed that I've been able to serve the people of Graham County," Stewart said. "I am so grateful for the opportunity. It's bittersweet, but it's time to let someone else take over.
"Kim has proven to me that she's honest, dependable and a person of integrity. She loves people. She has the heart of a public servant."
Switching sides
Known affectionally by many of those around her as "Sue" – her middle name – Carolyn's marriage to Buster Stewart in 1971 caused a sudden change in philosophy.
"I'm a seventh-generation, Civil War Democrat and I had never voted," Carolyn said. "I marry a guy who’s a Republican, and Buster's family was all about getting registered to vote. When I asked my grandmother what I was supposed to do, she said, 'You just register with your husband.'
"So that's what I did and it seemed to work out good; I had a good relationship with my in-laws (laughs)."
The same year that Carolyn took over as treasurer of the Graham County GOP – another role she stepped down from Monday – a chance dinner led to what became her life's work.
"I was going to district (GOP) parties and I was a stay-at-home mom," Carolyn recalled. "We had a meeting and the newly elected register (Wanda Brooms) was there; the former register – Blair Stewart – had gotten a job with the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles and was leaving. Wanda asked me that night at the dinner if I wanted to come to work for her, and I told her I would."
Serving the people
Carolyn's presence at the office meant a lot of interaction with the public, but it also came with a learning curve.
"You can't come into this job knowing everything, because legislation changes, and you have to keep up with the statutes and guidelines," Stewart said. "You meet people along the way, and I would like to name names, but I'd leave somebody out."
Amid all the interactions with dignitaries and continually building her skill set, Carolyn opted to move to the next level and put her name on the ballot for the county register of deeds in the 1998 race.
Republicans swept the ticket that November and six consecutive terms for Carolyn lay ahead, though her future was never certain.
"I hoped I would (stay in office)," Stewart said. "But I always took it one term at a time; you never know what will come along."
With 29 1/2 years in office in the rearview mirror, Carolyn's options are limitless.
"It's time to give some younger people the chance to go the route I went," Carolyn said. "I don't really have any plans, but I'm looking forward to taking care of my family and my church (Cedar Cliff Baptist).
"She has served the people of Graham County with kindness; always helpful, and always with a smile," Graham County GOP Chairman Steve Odom said. "Having a passion for genealogy, she has aided numerous families in tracing her family's heritage and researching their roots in the region and beyond.
"The good people of Graham County have been blessed to have had someone of such high character and professionalism – but more importantly, a caring heart in that office for so long."
