Earl Stewart

Earl Edward Stewart, 88, died at Riverview Place in Fargo, North Dakota, on January 29, 2010, after a long and valiant battle with cancer. Earl was born to Walter A. and Nora M. Stewart on January 10, 1922, in Alpena, Michigan. He grew up fishing and kayaking the Thunder Bay River and Lake Huron. In 1940, Earl enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served as Chief Cartographer, preparing maps for the South Pacific campaign. On July 6, 1946, Earl married Granis Virginia Pugh in Winchester, Virginia. At that time, he also began studying architecture, eventually completing a Masters Degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1953, Earl and Granis moved from Boston, MA to Fargo where he accepted a position as Professor of Architecture at North Dakota State University, serving in the department from 1954 -1964. While at NDSU, Earl became Planning Director for the City of Fargo. In 1965, Earl and Granis moved to Iowa City, Iowa, where he created a graduate level program in Urban and Regional Planning for the University of Iowa. He also worked for the city as Planning Director. In 1969, Earl and Granis returned to Fargo where he developed the Graduate Program in Community and Regional Planning at NDSU, serving as Professor and Chairman until his retirement in 1986. Most people would have looked forward to a quiet retirement. Earl, however, launched Earl E. Stewart and Associates, a planning consulting firm. The associates were mostly family; he involved Granis and all of his children at various times, and they recall with great joy the time spent working with him in his tiny basement office. The firm generated a very close association with the Fargo Park District where Earl worked as long-range planning consultant until 2009. As the years unfolded, he found a second family in his co-workers at Fargo Parks. Earl had a passion for the outdoors, centered around activities with family and friends at his beloved lake cabin in Minnesota. He had a special gift for building webs of connections with friends through ice fishing, acting as a judge at local bicycle races, and mushroom hunting. An accomplished mycologist, he was familiar with dozens of edible species. Earl pursued mushrooms with such zeal that it was not unusual to find him scratched and bleeding from crashing through the woods, yet smiling joyfully -- morel mushroom in hand. His enthusiasm for introducing friends to mushroom hunting was matched only by his reticence in divulging the locations of his precious mushroom spots. In later life, as illness limited his outdoor activities, Earl enjoyed feeding and watching birds. He was very proud that he had created what millions could not --a totally squirrel-proof bird feeder. Earl is survived by Granis, his wife of 63 years; three sons, Michael, David, and Mark, and a daughter, Granis Jane; sister, Betty Stoppa; and five grandchildren, Thomas, Eric, Peter, Paul, and Sydney. Memorial Service: Saturday, February 6, 2010, at 2 pm at First United Methodist Church, 906 1st Avenue South, in Fargo. This service will include time to share memories and stories about Earl. Military Honors: At the northeast mausoleum, Riverside Cemetery, Fargo, at 4:45pm following the memorial service. Earl's remains have been cremated. In the spring, half of his ashes will be scattered over his favorite morel mushroom spot, located somewhere north of the equator. A scholarship fund is being set up in Earl's honor for NDSU and University of Iowa graduate students. Let us join together in celebrating the life of Earl Edward Stewart, a selfless, kind, and humble man.