Deceased October 22, 2013
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In Memory
Don was born on July 16, 1933, in Philadelphia and died on Oct. 22, 2013.
He was a graduate of Episcopal Academy. Jim Schumacher met Don there in 1945 as new students and fellow backfield members of the 90-pound football team. Don was a good athlete. However, his career was cut short by a severe knee injury, which was a big disappointment to Don. At Amherst he was a member of Psi U. Classmate Win Robbins remembers that Don used to get up on the stage of the Amherst Theater and “conduct” the Bugs Bunny-Loony Tunes overture, having memorized most of Jerry Lewis’ lines and moves. Jake Wise said Don was the fastest man with a quip he ever knew. He also said Don could have been a very good stand-up comedian if he had been so inclined. Jake appreciated Don’s spontaneous humor.
Don was at Amherst from 1951 to 1953 and in the Marines from 1953 to 1955, before returning to Amherst from 1956 to 1957. As one might expect, considering his pleasant personality, Don’s business career was spent in sales, briefly insurance and then as a manufacturers’ rep for industrial products. Jim says that Don’s personality—outgoing, lively and unique—made him a good salesman. In 1959 Don married Shirlee Quann, who died in 2003. The Stewarts had a summer home at Cape May on the Jersey shore, where Don enjoyed playing croquet on the lawn of his home there. Don is survived by his son, John, and two grandchildren.
Rob Sowersby ’55
