We remember Stewart – husband to Dorothy, Dad to Michael, Janet and Carole, Grand-dad to Claire, Tracy, Robin and Stewart and Great-Grandad of six! Stewart was born on 26th September 1928 in Oldham.  He grew up in the area and attended Scouts which I am sure gave him his early love of the countryside; he used to cycle over the Snake Pass in winter to deliver Christmas presents to the Sheffield side of the family.  He also enjoyed walking , especially around Monsal and Miller’s Dale in Derbyshire.  This love of the outdoors stood him in good stead for his late teenage years when he joined the Royal Navy as a sick berth attendant and trained in St Ives with the Royal Marines.  Indeed, he even featured as their cover-boy on their magazine The Globe and Laurel one month, caught in a dramatic rock-climbing scene!  He also enjoyed playing piano which he learnt from his favourite Aunt, Auntie Lillian, which I’m sure came to good use when he joined a local amateur dramatic group and developed his love of Gillbert & Sullivan.  He attended Manchester University where he qualified as a Pharmacist and gained practical skills at a local chemist, Hinchcliffes in Stockport, which he would often refer to in his later years. 
Once qualified, Stewart started travelling in the North West as a Sales Rep for a Pharmaceutical company.  He especially enjoyed his longest route which would take him over to the hospital at Barrow in Furness, he then used to incorporate a scenic jaunt back through the southern Lake District.  He enjoyed making  scenic country drives through most of his adult life but would always make sure to stop on the way home on Sunday night for one drink – of course making sure us kids had a bottle of pop and bag of crisps each in the back of the car!
He was promoted to a Branch Manager in South London so the family headed south in the early 1960s. He was only there a couple of years before having the opportunity to work for the Co-Op at their Chemists in Chesham which is near the Chilterns.  Stewart would have the kids out in the hedgerows gathering flowerheads for his award-winning Elderflower Champagne.  He was very well-liked and the local greengrocer would give him many different over-ripe fruits for use with his wine-making skills.  He and Dorothy enjoyed the social life with their local wine group there and I’m sure he would have passed on his knowledge and top-tips as he was a generous man in that regard. 
In the early 1970s Stewart bought his own chemist shop in St. Albans and the family settled here for almost twenty years.  Stewart became a well-liked and respected member of the community; his Christmas shop windows were always a talking point.  His gentle humour was reflected on helpful labels on products – such as on expensive perfume bottles directed at forgetful husbands saying  “For use with lame excuse”.  Stewart’s other love – for gardening – developed in St Albans as he started to grow tomatoes every year in his green-house.  He used to throw any snails over the fence to the neighbours chickens and ducks who would enjoy these tasty treats.  He was a great DIYer too and installed a new patio and windows himself, with the help of various ropes and ladders.  He covered countless walls over the years in wallpaper and was always passing on knowledge and helpful tips down the family, such as wood-whittling to his grandson as well.  Stewart would always make sure the family had a holiday every year, be it bucket and spade in Cornwall when the kids were little – setting off at 4am in the Mini Traveller with the kids asleep in the back to make sure he missed the traffic.  When the kids were older, foreign travel started to become the norm and we were lucky enough to enjoy trips to the Mediterranean every year. Stewart would always like to explore and do what the locals did.  Catching the local trains and buses sometimes and armed with the trusty phrase-book.  Indeed in the mid to late 1970s this was quite adventurous.  Ordering coffee and brandy in Spanish for example  – he was always served before the rest of the tourists.
In 1988, when Stewart was 60, he and Dorothy decided to retire  to the Coast and they made their move back up north and settled in Fleetwood on the Fylde Coast.  He’d visit the White Ensign club most Sundays to chat with his old Naval chums and enjoy a tot of rum.  He and Dorothy,  together with other members of that group, enjoyed a reunion with the Royal Marines down in St Ives one year and he would reminisce on the night-time skirmishes at Kynance Cove and climbing Commando Ridge down there in all weathers. 
Finally around 2008, Stewart started to develop Dementia and couldn’t drive anymore.  This was a big blow as driving had always been a major part of Stewart’s life.  Dementia, in its many forms, is such a cruel disease as it slowly robs the person of their personality and makes them more withdrawn.  He enjoyed visits to the Singing for the Brain groups both on the Fylde Coast and later in Hucknall when they moved to this area.  Even on his bad days he would always sing along to “It’s a long way to Tipperary”.  Towards his final years though, when he and Dorothy had moved to Hucknall and then to Kingfisher Court in Sutton in Ashfield, Dad retained a twinkle in his eye some days and would still have his wry sense of humour.  When his carers handed him his glasses and called him a handsome chap, he would usually hand them back to his carer and say they couldn’t see properly!
Stewart was a  quiet, generous and  kind  gentleman in the true sense of the word and he will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved him.
 
Rest in Peace