In Memory of
Ray Stewart

November 28, 1918 - July 22, 2003

He graduated from high school in 1937 and married Emily Trent, a school teacher, in 1942. He served 3 years in the U. S. Navy.

He attended Denver University on the GI Bill and went on to Syracuse University where he enrolled in the first Radio and Television Master's Degree Sequence in 1950.

In 1952 he joined WOI-TV, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa where he produced "In Our Care", a 13 week series of documentaries filmed inside Iowa's mental hospitals, prisons and other institutions. The series won National Sylvania Television Award for Production Excellence presented at a black tie ceremony in New York City.

He joined Iowa State Medical Society in 1955 as Public Relations Director. Among other duties, he produced weekly half-hour TV film in local hospitals featuring actual surgical procedures. His most ambitious project was first-ever televising of Open Heart Surgery. Surgery was televised live on a weekday afternoon over KRNT-TV which stopped Des Moines in its tracks while people were glued to their TV sets. The telecast was written up in Newsweek. The procedure was so new that the heart-lung machine was constructed by the surgeon using plastic tubing, beer pumps and Tuffy sponges.

He joined WHTN-TV Huntington, West Virginia in 1957 as Public Affairs Director. He produced local programs and was active in community affairs. He was a representative of Huntington in Colorado Springs at the All American Cities awards banquet.

Governor Cecil Underwood appointed him Chairman of the West Virginia Mental Health Conference in recognition of his volunteer work in the mental health field.

He joined WIIC (now WPXI-TV) in Pittsburgh in 1959 as Public Affairs Director. Among many public affairs programs produced over six years was a weekly series featuring filmed segments of various aspects of life in Pittsburgh. Because of the ethnic and religious mix of Pittsburghers, He produced four hour-long film documentaries: "Why Is A Nun?", featuring life and training of nuns at Sisters of St. Francis Convent in Millvale, PA; "The Sign of a Priest", filmed at the Passionist Father's Seminary at St. Paul's Monastery, Pittsburgh; "Divine Mysteries" concerning the beliefs and ceremonies of Eastern Orthodox churches; "Divided We Stand" showing the varied forms of worship among protestant churches. These were all extremely well received.

After leaving channel 11, he was an independent film producer and photographer until retirement. He filmed training and sales promotion films, taught photography, operated two photo studios and a motion picture studio.

He spent summers for many years seeing America in a motor home. In his television work he traveled in Europe and the Middle East. He toured the Ice Cap near the North Pole in Greenland.

After retiring, he finally got tired of the winters in Pittsburgh and moved to New Mexico -- The Land of Enchantment.

During retirement, he switched from writing for television to writing novels. He finished eight books. Just before his death, he sent the final manuscript for one of them, entitled "A Crooked Mile," to the publisher. It is available online from Amazon.com or directly from the publisher.

Ray Stewart was an accomplished and creative television producer who used the potential of TV to educate, inform and create change. He won important awards in television production and writing. He also gave freely of his time for public service.

Emily died in 1989. They have five children, Thomas R. Stewart of Altamont, NY, James L. Stewart of Cheyenne, WY, Pamela S. Tucker of Collingswood, NJ, David R. Stewart and Ronald W. Stewart of Pittsburgh, PA. They have seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.