Obituary of Jr. Stewart

Ellis Cameron "Cam" Stewart, Jr., age 85 passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 21, 2011 at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Cam was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 65 years, Sissy (Mildred Ridley Stewart), on November 24, 2010, and by his parents, Ellis Cameron Stewart and Vannie Lamar Stewart. He is survived by his children, Cameron Ridley Stewart (Myrna) of Keller, Texas, George Howse Stewart (Karen) of Denver, Colorado, Elisabeth Lamar Stewart DeLargy (Jeff) of Austin, Texas, Mildred Florence Stewart Wells (John) of Salt Lake City, Utah, five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren and by his sisters in-law, Florence Howse Ridley and Susan Boardman Ridley of Murfreesboro. At age 17, while a senior in high school, Cam joined the Army Air Corps Enlisted Reserve. He completed the Aviation Cadet program and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps when he won his pilot's wings. He served as an instructor pilot and later as B-29 crew. After the end of World War II, Cam attended Vanderbilt University. With the birth of his son Rid, he became the first undergraduate father (at least officially) in the history of the university. Later, he joined the Alabama National Guard, subsequently moving to the National Guard Bureau in the Pentagon, Washington, DC. In 1967, he accepted a commission in the Regular Air Force. He served as Deputy Executive Officer to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower, Personnel and Reserve Affairs at the Pentagon, before volunteering for the duty in the Republic of Vietnam in 1969-70, where he served as an information officer for the 14th Special Operations Wing at Nha Trang AB and at 7th Air Force Headquarters in Saigon. In 1970, he returned to the Pentagon to the office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Reserve Affairs, where he served as Assistant Director for Reserve Readiness and Mobilization and later as Director for Reserve Personnel and Training. From 1974 until his retirement in 1977, Cam returned to his roots in Montgomery as Director of Information (now Public Affairs) for the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base. Upon his retirement, Cam and Sissy moved to Clifftops in Monteagle, and a new chapter in their lives began. Although Clifftops was conceived as a vacation and weekend destination, Cam and Sissy became the first of many year round, permanent residents. Cam assisted the developer of Clifftops in promotional activities and later took over management of the development, until health problems precluded his continuing in that role. His activities in the community, however, did not cease but instead expanded. Cam served as Chairman of the Monteagle Planning Commission and was a founding member of both the Monteagle Rotary Club and the Monteagle Mountain Chamber of Commerce. He was chairman of the Grundy County Library Board for nine years, spearheading the building of the addition to the May Justus Memorial Library in Monteagle and the improvement of the Tracy City Public Library facility. He also guided the six county libraries through the transition to the electronic age, helping them "get connected" and assisting in enrolling the libraries in the Bill and Melinda Gates computer program. More recently, he volunteered as technical advisor to the Journalism Club at Monteagle Elementary School.