John C. Stewart
January 6, 1947 – September 18, 2021
Denver Rotary Club 31 Member – 22 years
“Law – Probate”
Compiled and read by Steve Mast, May 19, 2022
Good afternoon family members of John Stewart, fellow Rotarians and guests. We pause today to present this Memorial Resolution in memory and celebration of the life of our good friend and fellow Rotarian, John Stewart.
Let me first recognize the family members of John’s who have joined us today: John’s wife, Carol and his daughter, Emilie and his cousin Rick Hughes. Thank you all for being here today. It is very heartwarming that Emilie is being introduced today as a new member of John’s Rotary Club! I know that John is watching and is very proud of you Emilie!
A native of Lincoln, Illinois, John received his Bachelor’s Degree in History and his Law Degree from the University of Illinois. John started his legal career in Chicago, but after only a few years heard Colorado calling and made the move to Denver in the energy boom times of the ‘80’s. His first job here was with a mining company, where John developed a deep interest in mining history. As a matter of fact, John was our program speaker in 2011 and his topic was “A History of Mining in Colorado” based on his book “Thomas F. Walsh, Progressive Businessman and Mining Tycoon”. While still practicing law, John decided to add a Master’s Degree in History from the University of Colorado at Denver. Are you beginning to see John’s love for history?
When not engaged in either the law or writing, John spent as much time as possible with his wife Carol and their daughter Emilie and volunteering with a variety of organizations including his church, Four Mile House, Iliff Care Center and Boy Scouts. John met his wife Carol on a bicycle trip with the Colorado Mountain Club. They were married in 1983 and were joined by Emilie in 1985. Carol is a native of Fort Collins.
When John joined Denver Rotary in 1999 he was sponsored by Jim Wilkins. John was previously a Rotarian in Illinois as was his father. The interests that John listed on his application were typical things like…golfing, skiing and long distance biking and anything to do with history of course. But he listed one which in the 22 years that I knew John we never talked about…chainsaw woodcarving – bears and other animals!
John attended EVERY Rotary event and supported the Club in anything we did. He had 14 years of perfect attendance. John was an advocate of both our foundations as a DRCF Legacy Society Member, DRCF Silver Fellow, a TRF Paul Harris Fellow +2 and a long-time member of The Rotary Foundation Support Committee. John was recently elected to serve a six year term on the DRCF Board of Trustees. John saw the good work these two foundations can come together to do, and as such he served for many years and worked on many projects with our World Community Service Committee. In 2011-12, John was awarded the World Community Service “Greatest Impact Award”.
I had the good fortune of knowing John through his 22 years as a Denver Rotarian. As any of you who knew John would agree, he was an incredibly nice person…someone who was easy and enjoyable to talk with. And if you wanted to extend the conversation, all you had to do was ask him anything about Colorado history – and he always had the answer! John was invaluable to the Rotary office when he spent countless hours culling through Rotary history when we moved the
office.
We will miss you but always remember you John!
This Resolution was accepted by a standing vote of the members of The Rotary Club of Denver and others at the Denver Country Club on May 19, 2022.