Stuart G. Stearns

Chatham—Stuart Gillard Stearns, 95, died May 25 at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis.

Dr. Stearns was born in Hyannis, MA on July 19, 1916 and had lifelong ties to Cape Cod, as a summer resident of Hyannis and a year-around resident of Chatham.

Stuart was raised and educated in Newton, MA and graduated from MIT in 1939. He began a 44-year career at Merck, then a small provider of commercial chemicals. He developed an improved heat sterilization process for sulfanilamide. He then set up and managed a container laboratory which developed standards for packaging products intended for military use. Stuart helped Merck improve the battlefield efficacy of sulfa drugs, which saved the lives of many Allied soldiers.

Another highlight of Stuart’s career with Merck was his design of an advanced technology sterile products facility for the processing and packaging of penicillin, streptomycin, and cortisone. He oversaw the building’s design, construction, staffing and operation; at peak the unit employed 600 people. Stuart pioneered Merck’s entry into the mass production of pharmaceuticals.

Stuart was deeply impressed by a boyhood visit to the Trudeau Tuberculosis Sanitarium at Saranac Lake, where his favorite uncle was succumbing to TB. It was a matter of pride to him that 30 years later he played a role in producing streptomycin, the first antibiotic active in combatting the tubercle bacillus. Stuart helped Merck empty the TB sanitaria.

In the early 1950’s, he consulted with Princeton mathematician, John Tukey, on applying statistical methods to maximize yields in continuous processes such as the production of vitamin B12. Stuart brought statistical quality control to Merck.

Through his Merck career he held a wide variety of managerial positions in medicinal chemical research, industrial engineering, operations research, commercial and product development, corporate acquisitions, and strategic planning. He retired from Merck in 1983.

Post-Merck, Stuart partnered with Dr. Michael Fowler, Professor of Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, UK, to form Life Science Strategies. He was a director of Massachusetts Commonwealth BioVentures. In 1988, in recognition of his contributions to the development of life science industries, Stuart was awarded the honorary degree of Sc.D. by the University of Sheffield.

In 1940, Stuart married Phyllis Robb, who he had met on Cape Cod. They settled in Short Hills, NJ, where they lived for nearly 50 years and raised 2 sons. He and his wife shared a love of sailing, spending summers on their beloved yawl, Damaris. Together they raised German shepherds to serve as seeing-eye dogs. Thereafter, Stuart never was without a canine companion.

The family remembers 3 extended trips to the Western United States and Canada in the 1960’s, all meticulously planned by Stuart.

Active and adventure-seeking throughout his long life, he completed two voyages on the working crew of the Lord Nelson, a tall ship operated by the Jubilee Sailing Trust – going aloft in his eighties.

From his architect father he inherited a sense of design and learned construction technique, which he applied in the many home projects and in the design of the English knot garden that now graces his Chatham property.

In retirement in Chatham, he served as a member of the Chatham Historical Commission, was a member of the Congregational Church, and served the Fox Run Homeowners

Association by contributing hours of labor and volumes of research in sustainable pond maintenance practices.

Dr. Stearns’s wife predeceased him in 1999. He is survived by his sons, John Stearns (Evelyn) of Lexington MA and James Stearns (Kathleen) of Seattle WA; his grandchildren, Thomas (Brittany Wieber) of Bellevue WA and Kate Stearns of Braintree MA; his great grandson, Beckham James Stearns of Spokane WA; his partner and colleague, Dr. Michael Fowler; and many treasured friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Chatham Historical Society or to the Jubilee Sailing Trust. Burial and memorial service will be private.