Elizabeth and Donnell Stewart
Elizabeth and Donnell Stewart with the model of the Bell Tower, c.1969-1970
Elizabeth and Donnell Stewart at the Bell Towers carillon instrument panel, 1971
Elizabeth Dee Shaw attended high school at Weber Normal College, and graduated in 1923. She then stayed at Weber as it transitioned to a Junior College and graduated in 1925. Donnell “Don” Becraft Stewart attended Weber College, where he served as student body president in 1926, and returned to earn a degree in Business Administration in the 1960s. They were married in 1943. Unable to have children of their own, the Stewarts put their energies into supporting Weber State College, becoming life-long supporters and donors of the school. The couple started making small donations to the college for things such as music scholarships, a Jeep for the science department’s archeological trips, and equipment for the physics lab. From there, they moved on to the iconic bell tower in 1971 with a carillon organ, which Elizabeth played on special occasions. As of November 18, 2019, the cumulative gifts to Weber State from the Stewart Education Foundation, the charitable trust Elizabeth and Donnell established in 1977, totaled $58,214,031.67. These gifts have helped every academic area on campus and have helped fund various buildings across campus, including the Stewart Bell Tower.