MOULTRIE, Ga. – There is a portion of Seventh Street Northwest that runs past both the A.F. Shaw Gymnasium and the W.F. Ryce Community Center.

Not coincidentally, that portion of the street was dedicated on Tuesday in honor of Samuel Stewart.

Stewart, you see, spent much of his adult life overseeing youngsters and their activities at the gymnasium.

And for many years, he led a group of senior citizens known as the Gladiators, which held its meetings in the Ryce Center.

Stewart taught and coached in Colquitt County schools for 31 years and also worked for the Moultrie-Colquitt County Parks and Recreation Department for 36 years before retiring last year.

Along the way, he has earned his community’s respect, shown most significantly when he was named Colquitt County’s Man of the Year in 2003.

He was also inducted into the Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame that year.

He continued to operate the Shaw Gym – often single-handedly – for another dozen years before turning the reins over to one of his proteges, Roscoe Singletary.

Singletary was on hand on Tuesday, as was Mayor Bill McIntosh, recreation director Terry Peek, members of the Moultrie City Council, City Manager Pete Dillard and a large number of family members and friends for a ceremony honoring Stewart in the Ryce Center.

Those in attendance then moved outside where a sign was unveiled proclaiming that the street had been named in Stewart’s honor. Seventh Street from Third Avenue to Northside Drive now will bear his name.

The invocation was given by the Rev. J.W. Greene, who called Stewart “a servant who has served humanity.”

In his prayer, Greene said, “We feel we are blessed because you allowed him to come into our community.”

Stewart was born in Jacksonville, Fla., but moved to Albany as a youngster. He played basketball and football at Monroe High and later was on the basketball team at Albany State.

After serving in the U.S. Army, he returned to South Georgia and in 1965 took a job teaching health and physical education at Charlie A. Gray School.

While there, he met another young teacher, Barbara Jones. The two married and have been together since.

Stewart went on to coach basketball at William Bryant High and after the integration of the county’s schools, he served as an assistant to Moultrie High head basketball coach Roy Saturday.

He also coached ninth-grade football under Bud Willis.

It was Moultrie Recreation Department Director Jim Buck Goff who hired Stewart to run the gymnasium in northwest Moultrie.

Peek watched Stewart run the Shaw Gymnasium for 11 years.

“The only problem I had with him is that I couldn’t get him to go home,” Peek said. “He was at the gym every time I drove by.

“And he was a disciplinarian. He insisted on children obeying the rules. And the kids loved him.”

Peek said he also considered Stewart a friend.

“If we were struggling, we’d pray for each other,” he said.

One of Stewart’s greatest gifts was his generosity, Peek said, noting that there were untold times that Stewart reached into his own pocket to help others.

And not just children.

Stewart was known for the gift baskets he often put together for those in need.

“I’ll always remember him being a servant,” Peek said.

McIntosh called Stewart “a Moultrie icon.”

“We could be here for a week talking about the people he’s influenced,” McIntosh said. “You don’t see many people pass your way like Coach Stewart.”

For his part, Stewart said that he remembers a youngster approaching him and saying he wanted to grow up just like him.

“I just told him I wanted him to grow up much better than me,” he said.