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Obituary (GA): Edward Lawrence Stewart Jr. '57

Posted on 04/14/2019

Commander Edward L. Stewart, Jr., USN (Ret.) passed away March 17, 2019 surrounded by family in Dallas, Ga. He was 84 years old. Ed, the son of Captain Edward L. Stewart Sr., USNR (Ret.) and Mary Glee (Cole) Stewart, was born in Cohasset, Mass. He grew up in Scituate, Mass. and even though he traveled the world, Scituate was always his favorite place. An All Scholastic Athlete in football, basketball and baseball, he graduated from Scituate High School in 1953. After attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for a year, he entered the U. S. Naval Academy where he played varsity baseball and graduated with the Class of 1957 (13th Company). Upon graduation, Ed began flight training in Pensacola, Fla. In 1959, he married Melva Fain, of Corpus Christi, Texas and earned his Wings of Gold. During his career as a Navy pilot, Ed flew a variety of aircraft, including ADs, A-4s, and A-7s, with 4 attack squadrons (VA-15, VA-81, VA-122, VA-25) and was an instructor pilot. He completed 800 landings on 5 different aircraft carriers (USS Roosevelt, USS Independence, USS Shangri-la, USS Ranger and USS Lexington). He served as the Air Operations Officer on the USS Lexington (1977|1979) and flew 150 combat missions during the Vietnam War. After retirement from active duty, Ed was a ground school and flight simulator instructor, training future Naval Aviators at NAS Pensacola, Fla. from 1982 to 2003. An avid sportsman, he played baseball, football, basketball, golf, handball and racquet ball for many years. Ed will be deeply missed. He is survived by his loving wife, Melva; children, Christopher, Karen, and Katherine; 3 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. He was "the wind beneath our wings." Ed is also survived by his siblings, Maryjane Vaillancourt, Peter Stewart, Linda Wild and Michael Stewart. Memorial services will be held June 14, 2019 at Barrancas National Cemetery, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida. In lieu of flowers please send donations to Girard Lifesaver, Inc. 10353 Ga. Hwy. 23-S., Girard, Ga. 30426 or www.girardlifesaver.org.

Published in The Patriot Ledger on Apr. 13, 2019