STEWART, Ed; Founder and Builder of Ed Stewart’s Equipment, Erin, Ontario. Hard at work and hard at play, John Edwin Stewart lived life to the limit. Whether it was building a successful business or racing cars, horses and snowmobiles, Ed knew what he wanted and didn’t stop until he took home the prize. Prizes included a shed full of trophies, and numerous sales and community awards (including Rotary’s Paul Harris Award and Lion’s Helen Keller Award), but all paled when compared to Ed’s ultimate treasure, his family. Nothing has made him prouder than the way his two families have blended so smoothly these last 20 years since he married Lorna Marshall (nee Bessey). Ed’s only regret was that his declining health limited the travelling and fun that Lorna so richly deserved after caring for him so well. Ed was born in 1932 in Ospringe, the second of Olive (nee Atcheson) and David Stewart’s three sons, Vern being older and Aleck, younger. Ed’s Dad made a living trucking livestock, and Ed was always hanging around the garage. He started doing grease jobs and oil changes at 13, the same year his Dad lent him the truck to drive into Erin to write his Grade 8 final exams. His formal schooling done, Ed wanted only one thing – to make lots of money. Cars and girls were expensive! In 1955 he opened a one-bay garage on the Ospringe corner and married Jean Theaker, whom he’d met at the swimming hole on the Eramosa-Erin Townline. It was thin living in “the shack” behind the garage when the boys were born, first Randy and then Jeff, but Jean was right beside him every step of the way and the garage quickly became a popular hangout for local farmers, attracted as much by Ed’s sense of fun as his commitment to service. Ed’s easy smile, friendly manner and slightly off-coloured jokes stayed with him his whole life, but he was no pushover. As he expanded the garage, started selling tractors, eventually moving into Erin and then Brisbane, bought more property and added agricultural equipment lines, Ed proved a tough negotiator in a briskly competitive industry. Today Stewart’s Equipment is one of the largest, independent, family-owned agricultural equipment suppliers in Ontario. As hard as Ed worked, there was always time for fun, especially if it meant going fast. First it was horses. He was buying, selling and racing them across fields in his teens. For one season in 1968 he owned a race horse, Lady Farmerette, ridden by an apprentice jockey from Toronto named Sandy Hawley. In 1968 when he started selling snowmobiles, of course he had to race them. In 1970 he entered his first tractor pull at a fall fair, and for a decade kept in shape hauling 150-lb ring weights. But nothing fed his horsepower fever like stock car racing. In his biggest race in 1974, he pitted his skills against some of the best in Canada and the USA at Cayuga speedway in a 250 lap event in which he finished 10th in a field of 32 cars. Ed Stewart died at home in his 83rd year on Sunday April 5 2015. Leaving behind his wife Lorna, his children Randy (Debbie), Jeff (Laurie), Scott (Karin), Kelly (Harvey), Darryl (Christina), his grandchildren Shannon, Leslie, Darcey, Nina, Lars, Brett and Jaxon, his brother Vernon (Laura), sister-in-law Audrey, many nieces and nephews and countless friends. He is predeceased by his first wife Jean, his parents David and Olive Stewart, and brother Aleck. Right until the end Ed was joking with his care team and cuddling with his grandchildren. He may have watched the animated movie “Cars” more times than any Grandpa ever. Friends were received at Butcher Funeral Home Monday April 6th 7-9 p.m., Tuesday April 7th 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. for visitation services. Funeral Service was held at Butcher Funeral Home, (5399 Main St. S. Erin, ON) Wednesday April 8th at 2 p.m. Donations may be made to Erin Wellington Community Services (EWAG), Upper Credit Humane Society or Erin Agricultural Society.
