my father, a distinguished nevadan

yesterday, may 9th, we got to attend unlv's 2pm graduation ceremony, where the nevada board of regents conferred the distinguished nevadan award upon my father, alden levi stewart and two other men. i believe there were two other recipients in the 9am ceremony. what a sweet experience!

when they nominated my father he was pretty embarrassed and maybe confused at why they would nominate him. he wasn't sure what he had done to distinguish him from any other nevadan. but by the time he was actually chosen, and things had been written about him and what he had done (thank you crystal, ryan, rhonda and craig), i think he truly felt honored and excited about receiving the award. upon his nomination, rhonda told the people on the committee that they were asking a lot of a 92 year old man to stay alive long enough to be present to receive his award. during the following months we did almost lose him, but instead, heavenly father allowed him to stay and celebrate his 93rd birthday and in fact attend this ceremony yesterday.

earlier this week all of the recipients attended a luncheon, where they were presented and then given a chance to speak (impromptu) as they accepted their awards. i wasn't able to attend (sob. sob.), but i think my father was able to touch many people that day at the luncheon. i think most of the recipients talked a little about the things they had been able to do to help nevada and how they had contributed in one way or another. dad was the last one to speak, and as he stood, his words were more about his love for nevada and his gratitude at having been born and raised in this great state. he expressed his gratitude for how good nevada had been to he and his brothers and then his children and now their children. i have heard my father speak on many occasions, and even though i couldn't be there in person, i can imagine the power that was in the room as he humbly and gratefully expressed his love for his homeland and his family. regent wixom called a dear friend twice on wednesday, the day of the luncheon, and just couldn't get over how great my dad's acceptance was. his comment was, "it was like the bases were loaded, and when he got up to speak, he hit it out of the park!"

yesterday while we were waiting in the green room before the procession began, each of the regents came up separately and greeted my dad. i'm not sure any of them had ever met someone quite like him before! as dad came forward at commencement, and they read his little bio, and what it was that he had done to earn this award, they mentioned that he had been married for 62 years. that got quite a reaction from the crowd. and then as they continued and told that he had six children, 27 grandchildren and 47 great grandchildren (two on the way), the crowd went crazy. he was on the big screen while they were making the presentation so you could see when he got a little choked up and emotional during the reading. yes. he touched some lives during the past week, as his light was able to shine again, for strangers and loved ones alike. we are a blessed family to be able to call him our patriarch.


all decked out in his cap and gown!


brent getting ready to be his escort!


his adoring fans. in the box and in the crowd!



easy to spot in his wheelchair!


standing on the podium.

congratulations dad! you truly are a distinguished nevadan!