George Walker Stewart of East Hampton, a graphic designer who had a passion for art, theater, and opera, died at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital on Saturday. He was 82 and had cancer.
He and Richard Corrado, his partner of 46 years, would travel to London twice a year for the theater. Mr. Stewart invariably knew the names of operas and their protagonists and could hum the arias.
For 23 years he and Mr. Corrado, who survives him, were patrons of the Santa Fe Opera, and they often visited the arts communities in Taos. They frequently attended the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera, where they had subscriptions, and could often be seen at Guild Hall for the Met Live in HD series, sitting with their friends Ernest Leatherwood and Jim Potter.
Mr. Stewart was also a collector of works by the Native American artist R.C. Gorman, among others. “And everywhere he went, he was always on the lookout to add to his impressive collection of white china teapots, contemporary watches, and mercury glass orbs,” wrote his sister, Gwendolyn Stewart King of Washington, D.C., a former editor at The Washington Post.
Mr. Stewart was born in Newark on Nov. 8, 1937, to Frank Maurice Stewart Sr. and Henryne Walker Stewart. He attended public school in East Orange, N.J., graduating from high school there in 1955. He then pursued a career in graphic design, studying at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, and went to work in the advertising department of Bamberger’s department store in Newark.
In 1961 Mr. Stewart was drafted into the Army and served for three years. He was stationed in Verona, Italy, and when he returned home in 1964 he resumed his art career, over the next three decades holding increasingly challenging positions leading up to his appointment at the firm of Leber Katz in Manhattan. He later worked as a consultant and retired in 1996, when he moved from New York City to East Hampton.
It was the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 1973 when Mr. Stewart met Mr. Corrado in Amsterdam, beginning what his family described as “a 46-year merger of two wonderful souls.”
Mr. Stewart loved doing crossword puzzles and brain-benders daily and weekly in The New York Times and Newsday. He continued this passion even while receiving treatment for cancer earlier this month at the hospital.
In addition to Mr. Corrado and Ms. King, two brothers, Frank Stewart Jr. of Pembroke Pines, Fla., and Robert Stewart of West Palm Beach, Fla., survive, as do many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton. The family will have visiting hours at 10 a.m. A requiem Eucharist will follow at 11, with the Rev. Leandra T. Lambert officiating.
Memorial donations have been suggested to the American Cancer Society, online at cancer.org.
