Buckner Bids Farewell to Decades of Good Food

Ms. Emma Dell Stewart to retire after 27 years as Buckner cook

(BEAUMONT, Texas) — Ms. Emma Dell Stewart, 69, has been nourishing body and soul at Buckner Children’s Village for more than 27 years as the children’s home beloved cook. On Monday, Jan. 29 at 4 p.m., children and staff will bid her farewell at the Children’s Village dining hall where she spent some of her “most joyful years,” she said.

“Ms. Dell is more than just a cook to us, she’s our family,” said Greg Eubanks, executive director of Buckner Children and Family Services of Southeast Texas. “There’s no way to tell how many bellies she’s fed throughout her time here, but there is a way to tell her impact ask any child here, and they’ll tell you the same Ms. Dell is loved by many.”

Ms. Dell, known as Grandma to most of the children, learned to cook from her own grandmother as a young girl. She feels strongly in both good nutrition and the inefficiency of measuring cups, and has developed strong relationships with many of the troubled children who have filed down her cafeteria-style line.

“I see some children who have worse problems than others, and of course I'm drawn to them,” she said. “When they leave, I'm really hurting, wondering where they've gone and how they're doing. But I love them all the same.”

For more information on Ms. Dell’s retirement celebration, please contact Rhonda O’Neill at (409) 866-0976.