Marjabelle Young Stewart (May 16, 1924 – March 3, 2007) was an American writer and expert on

etiquette Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...

Early life

Stewart was born in

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

, to Marie and Clarence Cullen Bryant (a great-grandson of poet

William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the ''New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry ...

). She and her three sisters lived in an orphanage after her parents divorced, where her youngest sister died of a mastoid infection at age 2. After her mother remarried, they returned to live with her. She attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs. After graduating, at the age of 17, she married scientist Jack Davison Young and moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 1941. She worked in a naval yard before taking up modelling.

Career

Young became one of Washington's top models and created her own agency in partnership with two other women. When she met the humor columnist

Art Buchwald Arthur Buchwald (October 20, 1925 – January 17, 2007) was an American humorist best known for his column in ''The Washington Post''. At the height of his popularity, it was published nationwide as a syndicated column in more than 500 newspaper ...

, he suggested a co-partnership with his wife in writing a book about etiquette. Stewart collaborated with Ann Buchwald on two other joint books and then she started writing her own. She went on to teach etiquette and manners to children, including

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

's daughters, and

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

's granddaughter and President Johnson's son. Her husband started a business to teach etiquette training and Stewart began teaching classes for professionals and college students. She went to class equipped with a complete place setting that included

china China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, 10 pieces of silverware, five different sizes of crystal glasses, and "a silver salt cellar with accompanying shell-shaped spoon". She moved to

Kewanee, Illinois Kewanee () is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for greater prairie chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,509 at the 2020 census, down from 12,944 in 2000. Geography According to the ...

in 1965 after her divorce from Mr. Young and remarriage to attorney William E. Stewart. She created a network of etiquette classes, which at its height had locations in several hundred U.S. cities. These classes were called White Gloves (for girls) and Blue Blazers (for boys); they usually ran in cooperation with department stores. She wrote fifteen books on etiquette including, ''Marjabelle Stewart's Book of Modern Table Manners'' (1981), ''Can My Bridesmaids Wear Black? And 325 Other Most Asked Questions'' (1989), and ''Executive Etiquette in the New Workplace'' (1996). In 1977, she began issuing an annual list of best-mannered cities. Cities like

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

often appeared in the list. After a car accident on June 30, 1997, Stewart was charged with a DUI. Stewart died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

at a

nursing home, at the age of 82.

Published works

*''The Complete Wedding Planner: 2nd Revised Edition, The Essential Guide to Planning Every Phase of Your Wedding'' (2002). Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 2nd Rev edition, *''Commonsense Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious, Simple Manners for the Twenty-First Century'' (1999). Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition, *''The New Etiquette: Real Manners for Real People in Real Situations--An A-to-Z Guide'' (1997). Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, *''Executive Etiquette: In the New Workplace'' (1995). Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; St Martin's Griffin ed edition, *''Little Ways To Say I Love You: Dozens of Simple Ways To Show Spouses, Lovers, Children, and Friends How Special They Are'' (1992). St. Martin's Griffin, *''Can My Bridesmaids Wear Black?-- And 325 Other Most-Asked Etiquette Questions'' (1989). Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1 edition, *''What to Do When and Why: At School, at Parties, at Home, in Your Growing World'' (1988). Publisher: Robert B Luce, *''Executive Etiquette: How to Make Your Way to the Top With Grace and Style by Marjabelle Young Stewart (1986-01-01)'' (1986). Publisher: St Martins Pr (1626), ASIN: B01K3K2UUY *''The Teen Girl's Beauty Guide to Total Color Success'' (1986). Publisher: Signet Vista Books, . *''How Travl 4 Yng People'' (1985). Publisher: Random House Children's Books, *''Marjabelle Stewart's Book of Modern Table Manners'' (1981). Publisher: St Martins Pr; First Printing edition, *''New Etiquette Guide to Getting Married Again'' (1981). Publisher: Avon, *''Looking Pretty, Feeling Fine'' (1979). Publisher: Scholastic; First edition, *''Your Complete Wedding Planner'' (1977). Publisher: David McKay Co; 7th Printing edition,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Marjabelle Young 1924 births 2007 deaths People from Council Bluffs, Iowa 20th-century American women writers People from Kewanee, Illinois Etiquette writers Deaths from pneumonia in Illinois 21st-century American women