Lewis Stewart

1934 - 2018

Lewis "Skip" Stewart

November 6, 1934 - June 1, 2018

Lewis Woodward Stewart passed away peacefully at home, with his wife "Dee" by his side, on June 1, 2018. He was 83. Some of the adjectives used recently to describe him – "A great smile, wonderful sense of humor and loving uncle," "A very kind human being," "A big thinker, with a modest ego and a big, big heart," "We've lost Mr. Port Costa," "Such an amazing soul," "He will be missed greatly and loved always," "I saw a hummingbird on Friday, and I knew it was Lewie."
Lewis, a fourth-generation Californian, was born on November 6, 1934 to Alice and Willis "Honey" Stewart. He grew up on the family farm in Yuba City, California, with his sisters Barbara and Charlotte, and graduated from Yuba City High School in 1952. He went to the College of Pacific (now University of Pacific) in Stockton, where he was the editor of the Pacific Weekly, the student paper, and recipient of the Thomas O. Boren annual award for Journalism. He graduated in 1956 with a B.A. in English and Journalism. He met his first wife, Barbara Webber, at COP. They married in 1957 and had three children—Gretchen, Brian, and Pamela.
Lewis worked at the Roseville Press- Tribune after graduation before being called to service in the U.S. Army in 1958. He was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany. Upon returning to the states he continued his photography studies at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, graduating in 1962. He worked for Moulin Studios briefly before joining PG&E in San Francisco as a photographer and writer in 1963 to 1972, and again in 1983 to 2000. A career he continued on a contract basis after retirement. He loved his job. He covered assignments for all company publications including PG&E Life, PG&E Progress and annual reports. His news, publicity and advertising work appeared in local, regional and national publications. He led many town meetings on behalf of the utility, showing through slideshows how communities benefit from volunteerism, beautification, and preservation of open space.
Lewis served on the San Anselmo City Council in the early 1970s and later became mayor. As mayor, he initiated the first curbside recycling program in the State of California, helped his friend Dan Goltz make Creek Side Park a reality in 1974 and continued his support of open space in the surrounding hills. In the perplexing years of the late '70s, Lewis did freelance writing and photography for California Living, Marin Independent Journal, Pacific Sun and Richmond Independent to name a few; and wrote, photographed and published two special interest tabloids, The Port Costa Foghorn and the Unnatural Enquirer. He spent eight years as an operator at the Union Oil Refinery in Rodeo after moving to Port Costa, California, where he met Diane (Dee) Philipps. Lewis and Dee became life partners in 1980 and married in 1997. Following the tradition of the family's love of puns, he came home one night from the swing shift covered in oil. "Oh my, you're oily," she cried. "No Darling" he replied "I'm actually two hours late." They were both involved in community events, recycling and various organizations within the small, but lively town. In early 1982, with his friend Ridge Greene, Lewis started the first Contra Costa County recycling program. With an all-volunteer crew, Port Costa Recycles collected recyclables from every household and both bars every other Saturday for 14 years, winning both State and County Awards for their efforts. When Dee accepted a position on the Port Costa Conservation Society Board in 1988 they got Lewis too. A friend once commented, "LewisandDee" – all one word. He was the P.R. department, writing quarterly newsletters, doing publicity, building maintenance, getting Port Costa's name in the paper, organizing the Talent Shows, Car Shows, conducting tours of the building and working on grants. He spent thousands of volunteer hours to help preserve the historic Port Costa School. He was the "I know, let's put on a show and fix up the old school" kid, because that's just what you did.
Lewis received many awards in his lifetime for photography, journalism, and community service. Among these were the PG&E Mielke Award, International Association of Business Communicators Golden Quill Awards, Compass Award, PG&E Heritage Award, and multiple recycling program awards.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Alice and Willis "Honey" Stewart and his sister, Barbara J. Mooney. Lewis is survived by his wife Dee Stewart; children Gretchen (Gary), Brian (Rosemary), and Pamela (Darryl); grandchildren Amy (Kyle), Claire (Caleb), Emma, Owen, Jeffery, Joshua, and Angela; great-grandchildren Eli, Austin, and Emily; former wife Barbara Weisman and sister Charlotte Stewart. A memorial service to honor his life will be held on Saturday, August 25, 2018 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Port Costa School. More information and a donation form for the Port Costa Conservation Society, his preferred charity, can be found on their website: www.portcostaconservationsociety.com.