Soon after marrying his wife Anne in 2001, Al Stewart became a member of the LWV of Southwest Santa Clara Valley. Over the years, he has played a role in a variety of its activities including: program planning, budgeting, voter registration, and the local Great Decisions programs. In the latter case, for about seven seasons, he and his wife organized and led the program, which was then sponsored by our League, the Saratoga Senior Center, and the local American Association of University Women (AAUW).
Al moved to the area at the time of his marriage to Anne following the passing of Jane, his late wife of 44 years. The couple had three sons, two of whom (Jim and Greg) survive him and reside in Fresno. His step-daughter Lauren Trank, Anne’s first child, lives in Tigard, Oregon and step-son Steve Mensor, Anne’s son, resides in San Jose.
As a graduate of Fresno State in 1956, just near the end of the Korean War, Al fulfilled his ROTC obligation and entered the US Air Force for his three-year commitment. His second son, Randy, born at Walker Air Force Base (AFB), New Mexico, was diagnosed with a very serious medical condition early on. Being unable to obtain affordable civilian health care for him led Al to remain on active duty rather than pursue his planned law degree. Following Randy’s passing on the eve of his 18th birthday, Al, having attained the rank of Colonel, opted to continue serving in the Air Force. His service roles included about 5000 hours of B-52 crew duty, including combat in Vietnam as an Instructor Navigator Electronics Warfare Officer. He subsequently rose to increasingly demanding positions as Chief of Defensive Systems for Headquarters Strategic Air Command (SAC) and for the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff as well as concurrently serving as Assistant for Electronic Warfare for SAC. He then became Base Commander for Malmstrom AFB, Montana with its 24,000 square mile Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Field. Subsequently he served as Director of Administration for Headquarters Fifteenth Air Force, March AFB, CA and for Headquarters United States Air Force Europe, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. After 30 years of active service he retired from the Air Force while assigned to Headquarters 47th Air Division, Fairchild AFB, WA.
In retirement, Al led a number of organizations in Merced including: The Retired Officers Association (now the Military Officers Association) as Chapter President for both the Northern Region and State; the National Association for Uniformed Services, where he was Chapter President, a national director and Regional Vice President (CA, HI, NV and Guam); and as founding Vice-President and later President of the Merced County Habitat for Humanity. He has maintained an active life and enjoyed traveling in 68 countries before and during retirement.
