Marjorie Marj Fisher Stewart

Westbrook – Marjorie “Marj” Stewart, 86, of Yarmouth, died January 16, 2011 at Springbrook Nursing Home after a long period of declining health. She was born in Needham, MA on May 20, 1925, a daughter of Ruth (Barnard) and Harold M. Fisher. She graduated from Fitchburg High School and from Pierce Secretarial School in Boston, MA. She then went on to work at a wool fiber company, an encyclopedia publisher, and Jackson Chairs Inc.– all in the Boston area. On June 16, 1956 she married Walter Ross Stewart, moved to Yarmouth, Me and together they had two children.

After settling in Yarmouth she continued share her passion for dogs. Before her marriage she raised and shown Irish Setters. It wasn’t long before she started the first 4-H Dog Club in the state of Maine in the early 1960’s. She worked with the Saccarapa Dog Obedience Club in Westbrook and helped with training classes. Having taken in an abused Cavalier King Charles spaniel, she became involved in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club being formed in this country, and helped write their breed standard. Marj was a member of the Board of Directors of the Animal Refuge League and eventually became its executive director during a major renovation of their facility on Stroudwater Street, in Westbrook.

Marj also had an interest in horses since childhood. With her kids she learned to ride, owned her own horse and participated in trail riding with family and friends in the Yarmouth area. She enjoyed British history and made several trips to England.

Marj is survived by her son David R. Stewart and his wife Belinda (Pulk) and their two children, Chelsea Stewart and Ian Stewart; her daughter Ruth Ann Stewart and her children Emma Stewart and Nicole Stewart and her nephew Harold D. Savage.

There will be no funeral services. Please visit www.lindquistfuneralhome.com to share your condolences, memories and tributes with the Stewart Family.

For those who wish, donations may be made in Marj’s memory to: Animal Refuge League, PO Box 336, Westbrook, ME 04098 or Beacon Hospice, 54 Atlantic Place, South Portland, ME 04106