William Arthur (Bill) Stuart passed away on Monday, October 20, 2022, at age 72, after a lengthy stay in the kind care of Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon, PA. We knew it was serious for him when he didn’t check himself out against medical advice after 10 days. (But it could also have been the wonderful care of the nursing team on 3 South.)
To us, Bill was known as brother Bill, owing to the fact that the family already had Uncle Bill, little Bill, and cousin Billy.
Born in El Reno, OK, in September of 1950, Bill was the first of the siblings, so he appointed himself the protector, the best buddy to John, and the role model to Jonelle.
In school, he always challenged the rules, breaking them with a smile and logic that kept him out of real trouble (except the time he and John found the keys to a blacktop roller parked between the buildings of our local elementary school). So legendary were the pranks, that when Jonelle followed on at the same school 5 years later, the Vice Principal had only one question: “Are you one of those Stuart kids?”
Bill was a standout athlete in Track & Field in High School, winning the Citrus Belt League Wrestling Championship for Eisenhower High School in 1968. He joined the Marine Corps following graduation in 1968, graduating from Marine Corps boot camp at Camp Pendleton, CA, with honors, attaining the rank of Lance Corporal as well as earning the National Defense Service Medal- Rifle Expert. After being honorably discharged from the Marines, Bill used his electronics training to advance in his work for Philips, becoming the youngest manager to lead a transformation project when they sent him to open the Puerto Rico electronics plant.
In 1978, Bill married Susan in Huntington Beach, CA 1978, though divorcing in 1985 with no children. He met his long-time partner Elizabeth Vail and became an east coaster when he joined her in Philadelphia. By 2009 they moved to Newtown Square, PA where Bill was attending Penn State on a VA grant to obtain his MIS degree at nearly 60 years old. He was holding his own with the 20-somethings until he was diagnosed with a bleeding disorder (HHT) that required weekly transfusions for the last decade of his life.
Bill spent the last two years quietly in Lebanon, PA, and is survived by his brother John Stuart of Grants Pass, Oregon, sister Jonelle Hilleary (Joe) of Alexandria, VA, and 1 niece, Dr. Caryn Glosch of Houston, TX (VAMC Houston).
A private memorial for the family will be held for the scattering of his ashes.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Mom’s Meals which do so much to support seniors, or by making a donation to the “William A. Stuart Memorial Scholarship” on Bold.org, established to encourage high school students pursuing a skilled trade or going into engineering as Bill did.
He will be missed, but his life will make a difference for others.
