Merle Louise (Denton) Stewart, 80, passed away Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. She was born Aug. 17, 1936 in Pike County to Raymond A. and Mildred Marie (Keeton) Denton. 

She married Paul Stewart on Feb. 5, 1956.

During her travels as a Marine wife, Merle learned to enjoy the ethnic foods of the area in which the family was stationed.  She particularly enjoyed cooking Asian cuisine.  Her hobbies were music, drawing, cooking and gardening.

During her travels, Merle worked for the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Navy, while in Hawaii.  She also worked for the Department of the Navy in Washington, DC.  Most recently she worked for the Social Security Office of Hearings and Appeals in Evansville, where she retired from in 2005.

Survivors are a son, Mark A. Stewart, Patoka; sisters, Margaret Stewart of Patoka, Francis Jane Mullin, Nalcrest, Florida; brothers, Ray Denton, San Diego, and Rev. Frederic Denton, Evansville, IN; and nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by an infant son, Mathew Raymond Stewart in 1969; her husband of 40 years, Paul Stewart in 1996; both her father Raymond Denton in1995 and her mother Mildred Marie (Keeton) Denton in 2007.

Funeral service is 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016 at the Colvin Funeral Home in Princeton, with Rev. Frederic Denton officiating. Burial follows in the Williams Cemetery in Pike County.  Visitation is 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday at the Colvin Funeral Home.