We created this memorial to celebrate the life of Don. Collecting your stories and memories here will offer us great comfort. Thank you for contributing to this lasting memorial.
OBITUARY
On Saturday 28th of October in 1950, there was an early frost, and Donald Steward was born in Barnet, the first baby of Jean and Bob Steward; one of three boys, his brother Michael came next, then Christopher.
On 3rd of May 2020, 70 years later, aged 69, he passed away on the first Sunday in May, when the birds sing the dawn chorus at their loudest, and lilacs’ scent fills the air. Don was fun, funny, authentic, a deep thinker, a... see moreOn Saturday 28th of October in 1950, there was an early frost, and Donald Steward was born in Barnet, the first baby of Jean and Bob Steward; one of three boys, his brother Michael came next, then Christopher.
On 3rd of May 2020, 70 years later, aged 69, he passed away on the first Sunday in May, when the birds sing the dawn chorus at their loudest, and lilacs’ scent fills the air. Don was fun, funny, authentic, a deep thinker, a great conversationalist, had amazing music taste and especially loved folk music, Russian novels and walks that ended with cake, he would help out without needing to be asked, and as with so many aspects of his life, he was generous, dedicated and giving: mentoring, helping and supporting family, friends, and so many Maths’ students, teachers and colleagues across the UK, by sharing the things he loved. He never stopped asking questions, learning and exploring. Don just missed out on meeting his newest grandchild, baby Oscar, but got to spend time and delight in the lives of his four children, Jesse, Jamie, Robin and Anna; daughters-in-law Beth, Becca and Beth; niece Maggi, nephews Liam, Callum and Nathan; and grandchildren Abbie, Joe, Teddy, Edison, Stephanie, Heidi and Damon.
After spending the first few years of his life in London, the family moved to Wellington, in Shropshire (where they’d walk and play in The Ercall and Wellington Recreation Ground), then to Rodington Heath. Unusually for the time, summer holidays were spent in Europe, travelling to and through France, Spain, Italy, Southern Germany, Switzerland, Yugoslavia… and always ending up on the Mediterranean coast. His mother and father were both keen hikers, and adept at languages, speaking several between them, including French, Italian, Spanish and German. The things that filled the house were the sound of Wimbledon in summer, the smell of apples in Autumn, and black and white photos, taken by his father, of mountains and fells.
Don went to University at King’s College London to study Maths and Theoretical Physics. He mainly taught himself though: he found the lectures too dry, so didn’t attend them. He was awarded a first class degree honours in Mathematics, as well as the Alan Fowler memorial prize for best joint honours in Science. In London, he walked almost everywhere, at lunchtimes he’d choose a painting to sit in front of at The National Gallery, go to his favourite cafe, Gaby’s, or frequent the best bakeries of Northwest London. He spent his summers working between sand-dunes, in a Cafe, right on the beach at Cambersands, in Sussex.
After University, and before doing his teacher training at Exeter University, he travelled to and around Europe, making his way across borders into the Soviet Bloc and paying for almost everything with American cigarettes. He’d describe how the communist supermarkets would have a single brand of cereal on every shelf endlessly stretching down both sides of an aisle. Because so few westerners had entered at this point, he was invited into almost every house for almost every meal. During this trip he also lived on a beach in Greece for a while, where the locals adopted him and would bring him fresh milk in the morning.
After doing his teacher training, Don returned to Shropshire. His career began at an incredible time of possibility, freedom and creativity in Education. He carried this energy through everything he did after, he saw art and creativity in Maths, even setting up and teaching Creative Maths at one school. He felt and acted on the value of true learning rather than testing, putting students first, and sharing what he learnt collaboratively with as many people as possible.
During his early years of teaching, he married his first wife, Beverley Fry. Both were vegetarian before they met, and brought up all four children as such. They lived a bohemian life initially, beginning their lives together in a converted shack in the woods at Lawley Furnaces, where they’d take all the furniture out and have incredibly loud parties, then living off-grid in Cloonshear More, in rural Ireland, crocheting a lot, being almost 100% self-sufficient, going everywhere on horse and cart, and attending things such as ‘The Festival of Burnt Toast’. This is when Don started his daily meditation practise and following the teachings of Prem Rawat. It is also where their first son, Jesse learned to walk, as they’d go up to the lake each morning to get water. Their other three children, Jamie, Robin and Anna followed when they lived back in Randley, in Telford, before moving to Broseley.
Maths was a philosophy to Don and a few years into teaching he set up his company, MEDIAN and spent many happy years with his partner, Mairead, living in Wellington and taking family trips to Wales and Ireland. MEDIAN later lead to his popular blogsite, on which he shared every resource he made for free. To date, his site has had nearly 4 Million views, with over 3000 hits per day. It is read and used all over the world. He had such an eye for colour and every post is a thing of beauty. Since his death, people have been sharing their favourite of his resources on Twitter, with the hashtags #DonaDay and #DonSteward.
Don and his wife, Jenny Steward married in 1989, a farmer, and fellow teacher, he would love walking and working with Jenny ‘up at the field’, but was more of a fair-weather farmer. Don will leave a legacy that will stretch and inspire generations. He had a huge influence nationally, and internationally, even though his main work was in Shropshire (where he worked as a Maths Educator for 47 years). He excelled as a teacher, Head of Maths and Assistant Headteacher. He held advisory roles for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Birmingham Local Authorities and was an Ofsted Inspector. As an independent consultant with his own company MEDIAN, Don developed an extensive collection of rich resources, using these to lead professional development for twenty three different LAs. He also supported Initial Teacher Training with Keele, Cambridge, Manchester Metropolitan, Birmingham City, Nottingham and Birmingham Central Universities. Don captivated maths educators through articles, workshops and keynote talks and amazed people with his enormous generosity, always willing to give up his time to answer questions or provide materials or ideas for others. Relentlessly modest about his influence, he was always keen to accredit others instead for inspiring him.
He is and will be missed by so many.
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