Stewart

William C. “Bill” Stewart passed away suddenly Thursday, June 26, 2025.

The son of Orrie and Polly Stewart, he was born in the parlor of his grandfather’s farm in Ramseytown, Pa., on Jan. 1, 1940, the first baby in Jefferson County that year. He grew up in Kittanning, where his parents opened a meat market. At the age of 11, he began his first career as a butcher.

After graduating from Kittanning High School, he earned his degree in mechanical engineering from Grove City College in 1961. He was hired by Pittsburgh Plate Glass in Ford City in the warehouse and shipping departments. In 1967, he was one of eight department heads from across the country chosen to build and open a new glass plant in Meadville, Pa.

In 1970, he moved his family to Butler, to join his father-in-law’s telecommunications business. For the next 30 years, he helped build Armstrong Utilities into a nationally known cable TV and internet company. Well-known throughout the industry, he served on numerous boards and committees, including a tenure as president of the Pennsylvania Cable Television Association.

His real strength was his ability to connect with people. He was a great judge of character; many employees he hired spent their entire careers with Armstrong. He was adept at dealing with employees and customers, creating the foundation that Armstrong’s service leadership is built on today. Whether it was an irate customer, a difficult employee or a U.S. senator, Bill was able to navigate the correct path of communication because he genuinely cared about them and their concerns.

Throughout his life, he strove to uplift his community, whether it was constructing a new Little League field, serving on the redevelopment authority or building houses with Habitat for Humanity. His most recent passion was the school backpack program, where he helped ensure that local kids had something to eat every day.

He loved to golf and was a member of the Butler Country Club for almost 50 years. He and his late brother, Denny, were a great team and won many tournaments in the area.

He was an excellent athlete and played many sports, but his passion for baseball was evident throughout his life. He played high school and Legion ball and even had a tryout with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was a star player for the Grove City College team in the late ’50s and early ’60s. Recently, it was announced that their new baseball stadium would be named Stewart Field in his honor. He loved the Pirates and would opine on the merits of any given player at any given time. He had special enmity for relief pitchers who couldn’t throw strikes and hitters who watched strike three with their bats on their shoulders.

For many years, he and a small group of friends took a baseball trip to enjoy new stadiums in different cities. Over the years, Bill took in games at 13 different MLB ballparks (and sampled 13 different stadium hot dogs).

A highlight of his week was Saturday morning coffee, which started years ago at Cummings Coffee on Main Street and later moved outdoors during the pandemic. Most recently, the group met regularly on his back porch, where no topic went uncovered and many of the world’s problems were solved.

Bill was an avid craftsman with a fantastic workshop in his garage, filled with every tool imaginable. If one of his grandchildren needed something, he could fabricate or fix it. For a period, he became very interested in converting antique TV sets into bars.

In 1956, while still in high school, he and his girlfriend, Gay Sedwick, snuck away to West Virginia and got married. This marked the beginning of a union that lasted for 66 years, until her death in 2022.

He is survived by his two children and their spouses, Jud and his wife, Michelle Stewart, and Paula and her husband, Mark Brestensky, all of Butler; his five grandchildren, Jud Michael and his wife, Megan Stewart, Olivia Stewart, Dr. Laura Brestensky and her husband, Joe Link, Emma and her husband, Matt Bromley, and Mark Brestensky; his best friend, Kate Ellwood; his sister-in-law, Karen Stewart of Kittanning; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

His two brothers, Orrie Stewart, Jr., and Dennis Stewart, preceded him in death.

He will be missed by many, including the Baseball Guys, the Coffee Boys, the Cummings Crew (better known as the League of Extraordinary Loitering Gentlemen), the Backpack Gang, the Jacks, the Burger Hut Group, his Armstrong Family, and really, anyone who had the chance to know him.

STEWART — Arrangements are private for William C. “Bill” Stewart, who died Thursday, June 26, 2025.

A celebration of life is scheduled for July 12, 2025, at the Succop Theater on the Butler County Community College campus, beginning at 11 a.m. Information can be found on the THOMPSON-MILLER FUNERAL HOME webpage. If you plan to attend, please be sure to wear a T-shirt with a funny saying. He loved those!

Donations may be made in his honor to the Jean B. Purvis Community Health Center, 103 Bonnie Drive, Butler, PA 16002, or the Butler Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation (designate your donation for the backpack program), 110 Campus Lane, Butler, PA 16001.

All who knew Bill are encouraged to share memories and upload photos to his unique remembrance page at www.thompson-miller.com.

Please sign the guest book at www.butlereagle.com.