Dr. Elizabeth Sutton "Lee" Stuart

1940 - 2017

Dr. Elizabeth "Lee" Sutton Stuart
1940 - 2017
Dr. Elizabeth Sutton Stuart passed away June 29, 2017 at Hospice of the Fisher Home in Amherst, MA., which provided a place of comfort and peace for her and her family.
Dr. Stuart worked at the University of Massachusetts for 40 years; most recently in the Microbiology Department where she held the position of Associate Professor and Director of Chlamydia Vaccine Research.
She was born in 1940 in Rochester, Minnesota to Dr. Edmund B. Sutton and Elizabeth Hollis Sutton. Her father conducted medical studies at the Mayo Clinic, and she spent her youth in Rockford, Illinois before coming east to attend Mary Burnham School (now known as Stoneleigh Burnham) in Northampton, MA.
Dr. Stuart graduated in 1962 from Wellesley College then received a PhD in Zoology from the University of Chicago in 1967 at a time when few women pursued higher education in the sciences.
From there, she attended North Carolina State University where she was a Staff Fellow for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and an elected member of The Society of The Sigma Xi.
Dr. Stuart married Alastair MacDonald Stuart on June 20,1964 in Rockford, IL. Lee and Alastair lived in Illinois, North Carolina and Australia before settling in Amherst, Massachusetts. Alastair spent most of his professional career at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the Zoology Department. He passed away in 2009.
In 1974, Dr Stuart joined UMass Amherst as an NIH Post-doctoral fellow in the department of Biochemistry & Molecular and Cell Biology. She became an adjunct professor in the Department of Microbiology, and in 1996 she became Director of Molecular Microbial Laboratory Services. Later she was named Director of Chlamydia Vaccine Research and was promoted to Associate Professor of Microbiology.
Through her scientific career, Dr. Stuart published numerous papers, abstracts and scientific presentations. She was issued 6 patents in the US, Australia and Europe, most involving the development of a Chlamydia vaccine and discovery of vaccine-related antigens. She mentored many students in her lab, many of whom hold prominent industry and faculty research positions today.
Dr. Stuart was always in her lab by 7am, with a cup of strong coffee. She always had a stash of chocolate in her desk drawer and loved a good laugh. She was a proud wife, mother and grandmother.
Dr. Stuart is survived by her children, Anne E. H. Stuart (James Dresser) of Turners Falls, MA and Samuel Stuart (Michelle) of Sunnyvale, CA and two grandchildren, Rachel and Zachary Stuart, and by her sister Patricia (George) Carda of Wellesley, MA and her brother Edmund (Grace) Sutton of New York, NY; and many nieces and nephews near and far.
The Stuart family would like to give warm and special thanks to family friends and to the wonderful staff at the Fisher Home for all their love and support.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of the Fisher Home 1165 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01002 or Amherst Rotary c/o Richard Mathews, Treasurer PO Box 542 Amherst, MA 01003.
A celebration of life will be held at a future date.


View the online memorial for Dr. Elizabeth "Lee" Sutton Stuart