TENANTS HARBOR — William I. 'Billy' Stuart, 80, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 18, 2026, surrounded by the family he loved more than anything in this world, at the Sussman Hospice House in Rockport.

Born October 1, 1945 in Searsport he was the son of Irving and Mary Cayton Stuart. Billy's family put down roots in St. George when he was just two years old, and that town became the love of his life, a love he never outgrew and never stopped giving back to. He came up through the St. George schools and proudly graduated in 1964 with the very first class to walk across the stage at Georges Valley High School. He went on to earn his degree at Thomas College, carrying that same quiet determination he'd show the rest of his life.

He started his career teaching in Stratton, but less than a year in, Uncle Sam came calling. Billy served in the U.S. Army stationed in Korea, where he put his sharp eye to work as a journalist writing stories and snapping photographs for Stars and Stripes Magazine during the Vietnam War. It was a gift he'd carry home with him.

And home is exactly where Billy was meant to be. Back in St. George, his mother and Gayle Steele's mother decided to play matchmaker in 1974. Gayle did her best to play hard to get, but Billy Stuart was a patient and determined man, and he knew from the start she was the one. They married in 1977 and built their life together in Cushing, raising their family there.

Billy was never one to sit still. He worked alongside local fishermen, ran his own painting and handyman business, and spent 25 dedicated years as a caretaker for a Cushing family, a job that fit him perfectly, because looking after people and places was simply in his nature. Even after retirement, you could find him mowing lawns and tending to neighbors' homes, right up until his health finally made him hang up his work gloves. In 2006, he and Gayle came full circle, returning to the family homestead where they built their home together. Following in their father’s footsteps, Billy’s kids returned to St. George, the community where he grew up chasing fly balls and dreaming big. Now with their own families, it is home.

It is well known that if you talk about Billy Stuart, you have to talk about sports. Baseball and basketball weren't just hobbies, they were a way of life. From the time he was a boy hauling rocks off the town field after games to help keep it in shape, Billy poured himself into the athletic life of St. George. He was instrumental in the development of what is now known as Leppanen Field, and his fingerprints are all over the sporting culture of this community. He coached his son's Little League teams, served as League President, and helped found the Cushing Rec Department alongside his wife and dear friends. He later served on the Board of the Mid-Coast Sports Hall of Fame, and was rightfully inducted himself.

For decades, Billy worked the lines as a basketball referee and baseball umpire, logging countless hours on courts and diamonds all across the region. He traveled to Rhode Island for Little League World Series action and, in one of his proudest moments, got to ump at the Field of Dreams Tournament at Fenway Park alongside his best friend, Dana Verge. One memory his family treasures most is the day Billy refereed a middle school basketball game while his two daughters coached from opposite sidelines. When someone asked if it was hard keeping things fair with both his girls hollering from the benches, Billy just grinned and said he'd been tuning them out for most of their lives, so it was actually pretty easy.

His daughters followed in his footsteps, becoming advocates and active participants in youth sports in St. George, and Billy never stopped being proud of that. Without him, they'd be quick to tell you, they wouldn't be who they are. For over 25 years Billy and his daughter Summer traveled the entire state attending any sporting event they could together. Often taking in over eight games in one day during playoff season, they were there supporting the local teams and his grandchildren on their way to the State Championships. Billy and Summer, travel companions and sports enthusiast to the end; when no one else would sit through that many games, they were right there, together!

When he wasn't on the field, Billy could usually be spotted cruising around town in his truck, his beloved Jack Russell terrier hanging out the driver's side window like he owned the road. Billy had a true photographer's eye and he loved developing and framing his own photos. He and his daughter Roni shared a special bond over trips to Fenway for games that had a way of turning into spontaneous adventures. They'd just point the car down the road and see where the day took them, stopping at historical sites, soaking it all in.

His oldest daughter, Shanon, gave him the gift of becoming a grandfather when her son Evan was born. For several years, when it was just the three of them, they enjoyed going to air shows and watching planes at the Brunswick Naval Air Station together. For Billy, his grandchildren were everything. He never missed a game, a recital, a first of anything. He was always there, steady, present, proud; the rock and the glue that held his family together.

He will be deeply and dearly missed.

Predeceased by his son, BJ Stuart in 1991, and his sister, Susie Wentworth; Billy is survived by his loving wife, Gayle, of St. George; his daughters, Shanon Lafrance and her husband Scott of Cushing, Summer Stuart Ward and her husband Jake of Port Clyde, Veronica ‘Roni’ Stuart-Hallowell and her husband Josh of St. George; his grandchildren, Evan, Alexa, Andrew, Violet, Bj, and Liam; as well as many nieces and nephews and a large circle of friends that he loved very much.

A celebration of life will be held Saturday, May 2, 2026, at 1 p.m., at St. George Ball Field, Rt. 131, St. George, Maine. In true baseball fashion, all are invited to bring their own camp chair. A pot-luck reception will follow at the Harpoon Restaurant; all are invited to bring a favorite dish to share.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Billy Stuart Memorial Sports Scholarship Fund, c/o St. George Parks and Rec, P.O. Box 131, St. George, ME 04860 or the Pope Memorial Humane Society, P.O. Box 1294, Rockland, ME 04481.

To share a memory or condolence with the Stuart family, please visit their Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com. Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland.