Obituary of Stewart Johnston

Mr. Stewart Johnston of Camrose passed away on Saturday, May 11, 2013 at the age of 59 years. Born in the spring of 1954, in a remote, and impossibly beautiful, hamlet of Spirit River in northern Alberta, a world away in time and circumstance, Stewart Johnston entered the lives of those who knew him as he was - sweet, kind, gentle and clever. For some brief months Stewart lived with his family of four brothers, Ramon, Hillis, Wayne, Allan, and one sister, Janet; and parents Edwin Hugh and Martha C. on a farm 4 miles east of Belloy, Alberta (a townlet, even smaller than Spirit River). In the fall of 1955, the Johnstons moved to the big city, Edmonton, Alberta, where Stewart's father, a veteran of the Canadian Army in War 2, found work as a nurse. Soon after the family tired of the "big city" and moved to Ponoka Alberta, a small, small town on the Battle River, where his father was employed as a nurse in the Ponoka Psychiatric Hospital, and Stewart grew from small boy to young boy. His father, ever the wanderer, moved the family from snowy, rural Alberta, to sunny, urban Southern California. Stewart, and various members of his family, lived in Valley Center, California, from 1962 to 1977. He matriculated through the local high school and on to community college. In 1976 Stewart experienced the joy of fatherhood, and named his son in his own image, Stewie. In the early 90's, he returned to his Canadian roots, to Camrose Alberta, the farming area where his mother and father began their odyssey, to help his elderly parents cope with getting older and to meet the woman with whom he would share his life, Marilyn. Stewart and Marilyn were married on Stewart's birthday in 1992. During his years with Marilyn, Stewart experienced the joys, and challenges, of his growing extended family. Birthday celebrations and other holidays were noisy and there seemed to always be a "baby" for Stewart to hold and take pictures of. He worked hard, and dutifully, as a carpenter on many local construction sites. The changing seasons of rural Alberta were made especially poignant and meaningful through his eyes. Stewart Brian Johnston, who died Saturday, May 11, 2013, was a wonderful man with gifts beyond others - gifts that were not always recognized, but intensely clear to all those who knew and loved him. The world will be a smaller, sadder place without his presence. We, those who knew and loved him, will never forget his spirit, his essence. Left to cherish his memory are his wife Marilyn; his son Stew (Annie) Montgomery of Valley Center, California; his four grandsons Isaac, Asher, Ryder, and Noah; four brothers Ramon (Gwen) Johnston of Calgary, Hillis (Pat) Johnston of U.S.A., Wayne (Karen) Johnston of U.S.A., and Allan (Elizabeth) of U.S.A. He is also survived by Marilyn's children Tracy Kruse (Marty Fisch) of Hay Lakes, Lori (Glen) Erickson of Sherwood Park, Tina (Rick) Stang of Camrose, and Crystal (Andrew) Koch of Camrose; twelve grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Stewart was predeceased by his parents and one sister Janet Schoberg. A funeral service was held on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. from the Burgar Memorial Chapel with Rev. Brian Hunter officiating. Inurnment took place in the Camrose Cemetery. Memorial contributions are gratefully accepted to the charity of one's choice.