Obituary of Charles Thomas Stewart

Tom was born on May 2, 1941 in Cottage Grove, Oregon to Joe and Jean Stewart. He was preceded in death by his father Joe. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Lola; 7 children: Kevin, Robin, Emily, Robert, Sunny, Tomi Jo, and Sharalynda; 16 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren; mother Jean; 2 brothers: Doug and Dee; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. God mercifully took Tom home on May 26, 2010 after a brief struggle with cancer. Tom grew up in California. He attended grade school in Coalinga and Thermalito and graduated from Oroville High in 1959. Tom played baseball throughout high school and placed 10th out of 253 students in his graduating class. During his summer vacations Tom worked for Sparks Logging as a timber faller with his father, brothers, and grandfather. After graduation he attended Chico State University before joining the Air Force in 1960. He proudly served his country as an Airman First Class E-4. While in the Air Force, Tom worked as an instrument technician on the RC121 aircraft and radar pickets. Upon completion of his military career, Tom went back to work as a timber faller. In 1969 Tom started his trucking career pulling mobile homes for Fuqua Trailer Manufacturing in Marysville, California. Later he worked for Nordic Trucking and Interstate Distributing Company. His job at Interstate brought his family to Washington State where he started “Tom Stewart Trucking.” He continued this business until the month before he passed away. Tom was dedicated to his work, but his greatest joy came from spending time with his family. Family time meant playing softball with his children, barbequing, and dressing up as Papa Santa at Christmas. Tom was an avid sports fan who was passionate about his USC Trojans and Seattle Mariners. Tom took great pleasure in poking fun at the Huskies. During times of solitude, Tom sought adventure in Louis L’Amour novels. A Service to celebrate Tom’s life will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 5th at Abundant Life Fellowship, 5917 S Thompson Ave., Tacoma, Washington.