Kitty Stuart lives is Oxford, Mississippi. She introduced me to this beautiful town, having fallen in love with it while attending the University of Mississippi.

Kitty is a gregarious young lady who responds to the friendly, southern ambiance enriched by the lush gardens, abundant nature, the stately architecture of Ole Miss, and the fascinating history of the area.

Ole Miss Lyceum.

Oxford is filled with history, interesting antebellum homes, and devotees of southern literature (not to mention sports fans obsessed with Ole Miss football). William Faulkner was born in 1897 in New Albany, Mississippi and moved to Oxford in 1901, where he lived, off and on, for the rest of his life.

Faulker’s home in Oxford, Rowan Oak.

“To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi”
- William Faulkner

William Faulkner, beloved southern writer.

I love to see Kitty happy among her friends, enjoying Oxford. It was somewhat surprising, however, to see her drawn to a small, fairly remote town. Having grown up in Dallas, she travelled often. Her other Dallas grandparents, Marsha and Henry Stuart, maintained homes in Colorado and France. She learned to ski as a toddler and was hitting the black runs before middle school. By the time she was 14, Kitty was able to travel by herself and feel comfortable in Paris, shopping on her own near the Parisian apartment of her godparents. The family chateau, Fongrenier, located in the Bergerac region, gave Kitty a place to bike ride through the French countryside, help Papa Henry harvest the white asparagus in the garden, and learn about the family vineyard and wines.

She visited a friend in the English countryside one summer, attending a boarding school and riding horses in the English style. She was quite an English lass!

Kitty travelled first to New York to celebrate her thirteenth birthday. The theme for the trip was fashion, starting at the Metropolitan Museum Fashion Collection and the visiting designers’ shops and vintage stores up and down the streets of Manhattan.

Staying at the Plaza, Kitty had tea in the Palm Room and channeled Eloise – an experience enhanced by a wonderful Eloise-inspired scavenger hunt around the city. She still has the tiara that was a prize at a participating children’s boutique.

Her sixteenth birthday was celebrated in Florence, Rome and Paris… with a birthday lunch in the Alain Ducasse restaurant, Jules Verne, high up in the Eiffel Tower. On this trip, she shopped at the mall outside Florence, snagging some great Gucci boots which her sister later memorialized in a song she wrote that sounds a lot like it could be about Kitty.

Le restaurant Jules Verne.

Touring Versailles, on this memorable birthday trip, Kitty was able to visit Marie Antoinette’s little “opera” theatre.

Kitty stood on the same stage where the doomed queen acted and sang. Alone with her sister, mother, myself, and our good friend and guide, Anne Marie Quette, in this magnificent yet rarely seen room, Kitty paused, then began to sing a beautiful Italian aria, Panis Angelicus.

Her voice, clear and pure, resonated in the silent gilded room. No one breathed a sound until she finished. Then applause and some moist eyes celebrated her beautiful song.

The “diva” at rest.

Thus far, Kitty’s life has been filled with adventures, challenges, love, heartaches, successes and some disappointments – just like most of us. Her future brims with possibilities. So, to find Kitty happily working at two different jobs in Oxford, Mississippi is a bit of a surprise. To have seen so many wonderful places and be content in a sweet little town in Mississippi… it shows that what matters is a sense of belonging, being with friends, of finding a special place which feels safe and happy. Oh, and a cute apartment where she can display her collection of all things Parisian and pink!

Kitty is one of my two beloved granddaughters and I couldn’t be prouder of her! She and her sister Tiger are two of the rewards I enjoy in life.

“They say genes skip generations. Maybe that's why grandparents find their grandchildren so likeable.”
- Joan McIntosh

Love,
Sherry

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