Dr. James M. Stewart

 

            Dr. James M. Stewart, 84, of Polson, Montana, died on May 16, 2009 at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, Montana of a heart attack. He was born on September 5, 1924 in West Palm Beach, Florida, the son of Jay Stewart, D.D.S. and Ruth McGranahan Stewart, both deceased.

            As a boy, he had an interest in music and developed a small orchestra. Living on the Florida Coast, a lifelong interest in the sea and boats naturally occurred. At the age of 17 he secured from the Department of Commerce a commercial license to operate vessels for hire. He was the youngest recipient ever of this license.

            Dr. Stewart received his B.S. from the State University of Iowa in 1945 and his D.D.S. from the same university in 1947. As an undergraduate at Iowa, he was commander of the cadet corps in ROTC and employed in the hospital eye department where he developed a device for exchanging the fluid in the anterior chamber of the eye. Other collaborative activities in that capacity involved the development of plastic contact lenses, plastic artificial eyes and the forerunner of light transmission by fiber optics. Later, in a situation created for him by the dean of the college of dentistry, he developed a tissue laboratory and animal facility while being a full-time dental student. In this capacity he studied spontaneous occurrence of periodontal disease, discovered oral lesions as related to certain female hormones, perfected the silver halide staining technique, and through the Department of Pediatrics made important observations on the maturation of teeth.

            Dr. Stewart enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943 and served in WWII. He was commissioned as a captain in the U.S. Army Dental Corps during the Korean War from 1951 – 1953 and was stationed at 97^th General Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany.

            In 1947, Dr. Stewart joined his father, Dr. Jay Stewart, in West Palm Beach in private practice of general dentistry. After 1954 he limited his practice to maxillofacial and oral surgery. His primary hospital association was the Good Samaritan Hospital in Palm Beach where he served as Chief of the Department of Dentistry from 1967 – 1972 when he resigned to devote more time to research.

            Dr. Stewart’s driving ambition to do medical research, ignited at the University of Iowa, continued after his return to West Palm Beach. In 1958 the Ruth M. Stewart Memorial Research Laboratory, a non-profit corporation devoted to research in the basic sciences and dentistry was incorporated. Through his laboratory, Dr. Stewart discovered a new nerve cell, later named the Stewart Cell by the academic community, which is responsible for both pain and growth in teeth. This discovery led to marked changes in dental anesthetics and opened the door to practical tooth transplants. The Ruth M. Stewart Memorial Research Laboratory was supported by grants from the John A. Hartford Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

            In 1968, Dr. Stewart, and wife, Nancy, co-founded Stewart Research, Inc. with the aim of inventing instruments and devices primarily related to surgery and the health care field. Subsequent to the founding of Stewart Research, Dr. Stewart developed the ESSAR tourniquet for enhanced venipuncture and the ESSAR Suction – Irrigator. The latter is used throughout the United States and in 20 foreign countries. This product line was acquired by Bristol Myers Co. Ultimately, Dr. Stewart held 16 U.S. and foreign patents.

         In 1982, Dr. Stewart became an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Indiana University School of Medicine and headed the privately funded Residual Infection in Bone (RIIB) project designed to investigate the relationship between jaw infections and facial neuralgias. Dr. Stewart was a member of Phi Delta Theta undergraduate fraternity and Delta Sigma Delta Professional Fraternity. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church of West Palm Beach and served both as Trustee and Elder. Professional honors included Omicron Kappa Upsilon, Sigma XI and he was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

            Dr. Stewart was widely published worldwide in many prestigious medical journals including Odontologisk Tidskirft, Science, U.S. Armed Forces Medical Journal, Journal of the American Dental Association and many others.

            Memberships included American Dental Association (special consultant), Florida Dental Association, International Association for Dental Research, American Academy of Oral Pathology and the New York Academy of Sciences.

            In 1985, Dr. Stewart closed his West Palm Beach practice, located on North Flagler Dr., and moved to Polson, Montana. In Montana he continued his research, but also turned his creative mind to artistic endeavors. Those skilled hands that had performed so many intricate surgical procedures and benefited the lives of countless, thankful patients now made beautiful silver fish sculptures and striking high fashion jewelry.

            Dr. Stewart was an avid sportsman his entire life. He was an expert wing shot and fly caster. While living in Florida, he and wife Nancy regularly plied the blue waters of the gulf stream in “Nancy’s”, their sportfisherman. He designed and built his own flats boat and fished for tarpon and bonefish off Islamorada in the Florida Keys.

            He was a member of the Sailfish Club of The Palm Beaches. Along with the late Charlie Campbell, Dr. Stewart was a participant in one of the most successful Billfish tournament teams ever. Fishing aboard “The Escape”, they won the famous Palm Beach Gold Cup Tournament in 1986, 1988, 1989, and 1990. Other prestigious wins included the ILTTA in Venezuela, the Stuart Light Tackle Tournament, the Green Turtle Billfish Tournament and Byras Creek International Tournament; the latter two both in the Bahamas. At Byras Creek a world record 19 blue marlin were caught and released.

            Dr. Stewart was preceded in death by his parents, daughter Ann, and son, Jimmy Stewart. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Nancy Stewart, of Polson; brother, Dr. Jay Stewart of Maryland; son, John Stewart and his daughter Lexi of Florida; step-son, Jeffrey Bland and his wife, Jane of Florida; sister-in-law, Jane Irwin of Polson; brother-in-law, Dr. R. Stephen Irwin, M.D., and wife, Jan, of Polson; and nephews Tyler Irwin and Spencer Irwin, both of Polson.

            A memorial service will be held at Grogan Tribute Center in Polson, Montana at 1:00 PM on Saturday, June 13^th, 2009. Memorial contributions may be made to Polson Loaves and Fish Food Pantry.

            Dr. Stewart’s ashes will be returned to the aquamarine waters of his beloved Florida Keys.

            Messages of condolence may be sent to the family online by visiting www.groganfuneralhome.com. The Grogan Funeral Home and Tribute Center of Polson is assisting the family.