WEST MILFORD — With the town hall meeting room filled, West Milford paid tribute last week to Alfred "Fred" Stewart, who was posthumously honored as the 2016 Mary B. Haase Lifetime Volunteer Award winner.
Stewart died in November while working in his beloved firehouse, West Milford Volunteer Fire Company #1, on Ridge Road.
Stewart joined the fire company in 1964. He rose through the ranks, becoming a lieutenant in 1968, deputy chief in 1970, assistant chief in 1971 and chief in 1974, a role in which he served eight times.
And a quick scan of the meeting room showed how much his fellow volunteer firefighters cared about Stewart. Firefighters made up half the room this Volunteer Appreciation Night.
Stewart's wife, Linda, was on hand to receive the award for her late husband.
"Every loss of life is a tragedy to family and friends," said Mayor Bettina Bieri as she presented the award to Linda Stewart. "A few affect the whole community."
"Thank you to the whole town for your support," Linda Stewart said quietly to the crowd, which then stood on their feet, many wiping away tears.
Fred's historyStewart was born in Newark in 1937 to Alfred and Helen Stewart. He attended Nutley High School and started working on a dairy farm before going to Rutgers College of Agriculture. He was a Navy veteran and worked for IBM as a computer engineer before retiring.
He began working for the township of West Milford as a part-time fire inspector in 1980 as well as deputy fire commissioner. He became the permanent fire Prevention Specialist in 1994 and remained in that position until his death last November.
Stewart was honored by Fire Company #1 in 2014 for 50 years of service. At the time, he told the Messenger he has remained a firefighter all those years and wouldn't change a thing.
“You get a great sense of accomplishment," he said at the time. "It’s been a pleasure and I’d do it all over again.”
Stewart loved cooking, shopping, dining out and being with his family and friends. He made most people he met smile; he himself was always smiling.
A family manStewart's family included his wife, Linda Stewart, their five children, Richard Stewart, Alfred Stewart, Debra Struble, Kimberly Holstrom and Karen Lupinacci, 15 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and his sister Jan Messina.
"We all gather here this evening to honor a caring, selfless man who will be sorely missed in this community of extraordinary individuals who volunteer their time and expertise to many worthwhile causes," read Bieri from the Stewart nomination, "the responding to a fire and saving of lives being the most noble and honorable of all."