Horace "Ross" Stewart

The foundation of our family passed peacefully on Thursday, August 20, 2026, after living an incredibly full life 99 years long. Born Horace Ross Stewart in Nampa, Idaho, on January 29, 1927, he went by Ross all of his life until his grandchildren were born. Then his family fondly called him Papa. His parents named him Horace after the doctor who delivered him, H.P. Belknap, a long-time family friend of his father’s. (Ross and his wife Bonnie named their third son Preston after Dr. Belknap, so the doctor was well honored.) Ross was the sixth and last child of Phillip and Mae Stewart. A family of five boys and one girl was perfect for a farm life existence in the Amity area of Nampa. The farming life was not an easy one; it gave Dad the resilience he had for the rest of his life.

When Dad turned 16, he lied about his age to get a job working for the railroad. He probably was barely shaving but he was not afraid to ask for hard work. He was a small teenager working a man’s job, but it never phased him. Two years later when he received a draft notice for World War II, the gig was up. He had to face the railroad office lady and admit his real age. This chat was probably when his sales career was hatched. She was swayed by his charm and agreed to have a job waiting for him when he got out of the service.

Dad opted to join the Navy. He enjoyed the Navy and had many stories to share. After Boot Camp and with his railroad experience, he was immediately assigned to the boiler room of the oil tanker USS Severn. The boiler room was in the belly of the ship; Dad said it was a great hiding place for the stolen watermelon!

Shortly after the World War II ended, the Severn’s crew was assigned to load supplies in Saudi Arabia and deliver them to ports all over the Pacific. Dad told many stories of his time on the Severn including seeing the destruction that had happened to Tokyo when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city.

Eventually, the Severn was sent back to San Diego to be converted to carry water to other ships that had no desalination capacity. After the conversion, the Severn set sail to the Bikini Atoll where the crew witnessed two A Bomb tests: one under water and one above. A couple of days after one of the tests the captain wanted to get a better look, so they sailed closer to the devastation. The result of this decision would show up later in Dad’s life.

Dad fulfilled his commitment to the Navy in 1947. Waiting at home for him while he was in the service was a patient girl and the love of his life, Bonnie Seitz. After coming home from the Navy, Dad returned to working for the railroad and eventually attained the level of engineer. Dad and Mom were married in 1948, and their first son, Terry Ross, was born in 1949.

One day, Dad had a “strange” situation where he got tingling in his hands and feet that progressed to blistering bad enough that Mom had to feed him. The tingling and blistering ran their course and went away only to show up again a few months later. This cycle continued many times. Dad sought medical help locally and went to Veterans Administration hospitals on the West Coast but got no answers or diagnoses. These were tough times for our parents. Each time Dad had a breakout, he could not work for weeks, and they had a small child at home to care for. Eventually, the breakouts became further and further apart and then finally stopped. All through his life, Dad occasionally could feel a sensation related to this health issue. Of course, the government would never attribute his symptoms to the nuclear tests. Life moved on.

Three years after Terry was born, David Lynn came along (1952) and three years after David’s birth, baby brother Preston Brent was born (1955). The little house Ross and Bonnie had bought on the north side of Nampa was full. We had our own version of the television series “My Three Sons” with Mom being the housekeeper and chief bottle washer in a home much smaller than the one on the TV series. (I can feel Mom giving me the glare for that comment.) Life was okay with normal hiccups.

There was one problem, however. Working for the railroad meant there were periods of layoffs. There were no unemployment benefits. If an employee was going to be laid off, that employee could “bump” someone else which meant the job for the person who was bumped could be in another railroad town like Pocatello in Eastern Idaho (or closer or further away than that town was from Nampa). Our family could handle a few days of Dad being unemployed as he would pick up other types of work to get the family by. Dr. Belknap lived up the road from our house, across from Lakeview Park. To earn some money, Dad would milk the cows in Dr. Belknap’s back barn. (I took Dad by the old house and the barn before the day Dad took the downturn before his passing. He lit up telling the stories and seeing the barn. It didn’t matter if we had driven by those places last month or last week, he loved to go there! And oh my, what memories.

When Ross and Bonnie had only one child, they were getting by but not by much. Mom was managing; then David came along. Dad would always say there wasn’t a pot to piss in. The railroad work had taken our family to a few Idaho towns but now he was working in Kemmerer, Wyoming. That was a breaking point. Mom said, “I’m not living here!” His railroad career wasn’t going to last much longer.

Back in Nampa, a neighbor was selling magazines door to door. Dad started part time for the magazine company which only him on commission. He said it was almost like fishing (which he loved to do). The salespeople would work in an area like Caldwell for several weeks then move on to the next town. Dad met the team leaders, Paul and Mary Sutmiller, developing a lifelong friendship with them. In fact, Mary lived with us after Paul passed. (This kindness is just one of the incredible examples of generosity our parents set for us.) The sales job meant Dad was making better and more consistent money to support our family. The downside was that he, mom, and two young children had to spend weeks away from home in a motel or rental home while he sold magazines in towns around Southern Idaho.

Living out of a motel had challenges. Dad would exchange magazines subscriptions for eggs then trade the eggs at the local grocery. Or he would bring a chicken home that he had traded for, and Mom would prepare it for dinner. The bartering system was more common than it is now. Dad had a gift for sales but needed to find a job closer to Nampa.

Dad decided to give American Window Products a try. The Nampa company was mostly doing interior design with window treatments (curtains, drapes and blinds) and they also installed windows. Dad hung and installed window treatments all over the valley. Then he switched to window sales for which the company paid him on a commission basis. He excelled at window sales and worked for many years selling windows for the company—even through an ownership change. There came a point when the company was struggling and opted for bankruptcy. Shortly after that, in 1972, Dad started his own business: Stewart’s Window and Awning.

Stewart’s Window and Awning was his baby for the rest of his working life. All of us remember the storm door demonstration he gave to every potential customer. I would call it the famous door kick. He would twist and pull on the door over and over and finish with a kick to the bottom panel to show how indestructible the product was. Dad gave these demonstrations at the Western Idaho State Fair for many years while we three rugrats ran wild. Mom hung out in the RV and kept track of us. Those were good times.

I remember going with Dad on sales leads from the Fair. What I remember most was the smile on the customers’ faces when we were leaving. He was a great salesman who cared about his customers and, yes, getting the sale.

What role models our parents were. They taught us the value of hard work and teamwork. Life was a balancing act. While Dad was running his business, Mom was working as a nurse to supplement our income. Her income kept us boys looking good.

Dad’s business was doing well. The time came when he needed to move his business to a larger space, so he purchased the old potato chip factory in Nampa in 1974. Stewart’s Window and Awning provided jobs for us boys throughout high school and after. Eventually middle son David took over when Dad was ready to “retire.” Dad continued to show up at the office well into his 90s to check on how things were going. He still had ideas about things the business could do. He learned to use a computer to check on stocks or play solitaire. Being at the office was like a vitamin for him.

Mom and Dad loved to travel with friends and family. They took many trips and had many stories to share about their travels. They were proud that they had been to all 50 states. If you said, “Let’s go!” Dad was out the door waiting to hop in the car. He traveled to England and Ireland with Brent when he was almost 70. Up until the day he passed, he loved driving around Nampa and the Treasure Valley.

Dad also loved fishing. When he took us boys on a fishing trip, he would switch poles with us several times to prove the fish were there! He fished the North Fork of the Boise River all of his life. Of course, Mom went along for ride. After Mom passed away, Dad went deep-sea fishing on the West Coast and when he was almost 90, he went fishing on the Colombia River twice.

When Mom became ill with emphysema, they took trips to the Oregon coast. Mom loved it there and she could breathe better there. We believe his comfort and care extended her life. In 1998 at age 68, she passed away during a trip to the coast. For the rest of his life, Dad said many times how much he missed her.

A few years after Mom’s death, Dad started spending time with Dorothy Shannon, a long-time family acquaintance. Dad would go to Dorothy’s house for dinner and an evening watching old TV westerns. They enjoyed dancing and traveling together for many years until their health made those activities difficult. Our family embraced Dorothy; we were happy Dad had such a wonderful friend and companion. Dorothy and Dad spent many enjoyable years together.

Dad’s memory was incredible, only failing somewhat in the last years of his life. He shared many stories of his life with his family.

Over the years, the Stewart family grew to include eleven grandchildren whom Bonnie and Ross dearly loved. And in the later years of his life, Ross got to enjoy nine great grandchildren! Ross lit up playing with the babies and a big box of Legos when they visited him.

We are so blessed to have had Dad with us for 99 amazing years. Imagine the beautiful trip he is having now with his beloved wife, Bonnie, and other family and friends (and the huge trout he just hooked!). We miss you, Papa Ross.

Thank you to all the great hospice caregivers who helped bring peace and comfort to Dad at the end of his life. And a special thanks to Ariya, who for the last few months not only listened to all Papa’s stories and fixed his favorite BLT but also watched over him when got on his knees to pull a garden weed.

In lieu of flowers, Ross requested a donation to the Nampa St. Paul’s Catholic Church Angel Fund which is a donor-supported financial assistance fund that helps families cover student tuition costs.