Alice Caldwell Stewart was small in stature, but she had a huge heart, with an intellect to match.
Ms. Stewart was a lawyer who represented the indigent and downtrodden who lacked a voice in their own defense. She believed passionately in the rights of the accused, and was tenacious in her defense of them.
Alice Stewart of Atlanta died Sunday of lung cancer at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. She was 58. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. May 6 at Emory University's Cannon Chapel. The Cremation Society of Georgia is in charge of arrangements.
Ms. Stewart grew up in Boulder, Colo. She graduated with a B.A. in philosophy from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, and also attended Dartmouth and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She received her J.D. degree from Emory Law School. While in law school, she worked for Legal Aid, and after graduation, as a clerk for a judge in Reidsville where the state prison is located.
"She did a lot of work on habeas corpus cases for prisoners and spent her life trying to help others," said friend Tom West. "That is the highest goal a lawyer can aspire to."
Her sister Jane Stewart of Washington, D.C. said Ms. Stewart loved word plays and puns. Though she was quite petite, she had a giant personality.
"Alice loved to make genuine connections with people," Jane Stewart said. "Whenever I would go out with her, she knew people on the streets, in restaurants and shops. People were drawn to her and she really paid attention to what they had to say."
With her philosophy background, Ms. Stewart was never at a loss for words or profound thoughts. She loved to write letters and even in the last week of her life, sent her nephew a note filled with Latin phrases and jokes that he must now decipher. She was also enchanted with lovely miniatures of crystals, postcards, stones and ribbons. Before her death, she sent her niece a labradorite gemstone which changes colors in dim light and is said to raise levels of consciousness.
Another sister, Mary Stewart of Washington, D.C., recalled that as a child she was ill one summer and her big sister comforted her.
"Alice created this character named Puddin' who had curly hair and bore a close resemblance to me. Puddin' loved chocolate chip cookies and enjoyed being messy and getting dirty." Ms. Stewart wrote stories about Puddin' that kept Mary amused during that difficult time.
James Taylor met Ms. Stewart at Little Five Points more than 30 years ago. He was also a philosophy major, and they became quick friends. He believed Ms. Stewart was the smartest person he ever met.
"She was a lone-wolf criminal defense attorney who specialized in death penalty cases," Mr. Taylor said. "She filed appeals and in at least two cases kept her clients from the electric chair."
The people she represented were often destitute and unable to pay much for her work, but that appealed to her sense of justice and fairness. Mr. Taylor said, "I've seen her charm the daylights out of judges in Atlanta and rural Georgia who underestimated her."
In addition to her two sisters, Alice is survived by her mother, Rachel Whitesides Stewart of Washington, D.C.
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