John Westcott Stewart

John Westcott Stewart, PhD, 80, of Charlottesville, died Wednesday, June 20, 2007.

Born November 15, 1926, in Princeton, New Jersey, he was the son of the late John Quincy and Lillian Westcott Stewart. He was also preceded in death by his first wife, Anne.

He attended Princeton Country Day, Lawrenceville in New Jersey, and Princeton University. He was drafted into the army in 1944. He served his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, then was assigned to the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He completed his A.B. at Princeton University in 1949. He did research in the field of High Pressure, Low Temperature. He obtained his M.S. and PhD in Physics from Harvard University in 1954 where he studied under Percy Bridgman.

In 1954, he married Anne Smith. He moved to Charlottesville, Virginia while maintaining a summer home in New Hampshire. In 1954, he joined the faculty at University of Virginia, where he taught until 1994. In addition to teaching Physics and Meteorology he worked in the Office of the Dean of Admissions, was advisor to premedical students, was advisor to Echols scholars and was a Faculty Marshal. In 1994, he was appointed Professor Emeritus for his many contributions to the university.

Mr. Stewart, on sabbatical from the University of Virginia from 1962 until 1963, worked for the Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colorado. In 1967, he published The World of High Pressure. He published articles in the Physical Review, Journal of the Physics and Chemistry of Solids, Journal of Chemical Physics, and Weatherwise. He contributed chapters to "Modern High Pressure Techniques", "Physics of High Pressure", and "The Condensed State".

He was a member of the American Physical Society, American Association of Physics Teachers, and Sigma Xi, the scientific research society. In 1965, he was awarded The President's and Visitor's Research Prize from the Virginia Chapter of Sigma Xi.

He was active in Randolph Mountain Club, President and Chairman for Trails and Trips; was supervisor of Trail Crews, and author of "Randolph Paths". Jack had a lifelong love of hiking in Virginia and New Hampshire. He taught himself Meteorology, kept detailed weather records and advised family members and hiking club friends about the coming weather. He shared his love of hiking and mountains with many people. Jack was a loyal fan of University of Virginia sports for 53 years, especially football, basketball, and baseball. Listening to opera music was a major passion. He also loved to travel the world by railroad.

He is survived by his second wife, Deborah Scott Stewart; daughter, Christine White and son-in-law, Stephen White; five grandchildren, Christine, Sarah, Stephen, Amelia, and Westcott, all of Charleston, South Carolina; stepchildren, Paul and Debra Ernsberger, Dan and Lisa Ernsberger, and Gail Ernsberger Mathabane and her husband, Mark; and six stepgrandchildren, Tim, Bianca, Nathan, Stanley, Henry and Scott.

A memorial service will be conducted 11 a.m. Saturday June 23, 2007, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 190 Rugby Road, Charlottesville, Virginia.

A second memorial service will be conducted 2 p.m. Saturday, August 4, 2007 at The Randolph Church in Randolph, New Hampshire.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts are suggested to The Randolph Mountain Club, P.O. Box 279, Gorham, NH 03581 or to Mount Washington Observatory, P.O. Box 2310, North Conway, NH 03860.

Friends may sign the guest register at teaguefuneralhome.com.