Newburgh Free Academy Memorial


George Edward Stewart - Class of 1954

    George Edward Stewart of Milton, NY passed away peacefully on Saturday May 23, 2015, he was 79 years old. George, or Bud as he was known to his many friends, was born in Cornwall, NY on January 30th 1936. He was the only child of Esther and Louis Stewart. Bud graduated from Newburgh Free Academy in 1954. He then attended the Radio Corporation of America in NYC pursuing his love of electronics. Shortly afterwards he enlisted in the Navy where he started what would become his lifelong love of flying. Bud was qualified Avionics ET and flew the F3-A Demon as Radar Intercept Officer. He was stationed at various Naval Air Stations along the eastern seaboard and finished his Naval career as an aviation electronics instructor at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Discharged in 1959, Bud started a family in his native Newburgh and was soon hired by IBM. At IBM he worked on the 370 series computers and fondly recalled the days when vacuum tubes were the heart of the computer’s inner workings. He retired from IBM in 1994 as a Senior Associate Engineer. Bud was the proud owner of the “Aurora” and a lifetime member of the Chelsea Yacht Club. He was a skillful sailor whose advice and friendship was constantly sought at the CYC. He enjoyed ice boating and was a member of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club. Bud enjoyed skiing as well and was a past member of the Hudson Valley Ski Club. Bud was an accomplished HAM radio operator, constructing his own radios was a favorite hobby. Stewart is survived by his three children, Mark Stewart, Susan Lizzo and Heather Freilich as well as three grandchildren, Robert Edge IV, Jacqueline Morris and Connor Stewart. Final farewell will be at the Brooks Funeral Home in Newburgh on Thursday, May 28th. Visitation will be held from 5-8 pm on Thursday, May 28 at Brooks Funeral Home, 481 Gidney Ave., Newburgh. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 am on Friday, May 29 at Our Lady of the Lake Chapel, Newburgh, with burial with military honors following in Woodlawn Cemetery, New Windsor.