As received from the O’Neill-Dennis Funeral Home. If you have questions about, or potential corrections to the content, please contact the funeral home directly.
Douglas Allen Stuart, age 94, of Houghton, Michigan, died surrounded by family members on May 8, 2025, at UP Health System – Portage hospital, Hancock, Michigan, following an illness.
Doug was born in his family’s home in Pontiac, Michigan on August 31, 1930, the son of Elmo and Martha Ruth (Pellymounter) Stuart. After a boyhood heavily involved in scouting (Boy Scouts, Sea Explorers, and Air Explorers) and Glee Club, he graduated from Pontiac High School in 1948. He studied for a year at what was then the Sault Sainte Marie branch of the Michigan College of Mining and Technology, then transferred to Michigan State University in East Lansing, graduating in 1952 with a B.S. in “Recreation (Youth Leadership),” with the intent of eventually becoming a Boy Scout executive. While at Michigan State, he met his future wife, Norma Lee Remington.
Upon graduation from Michigan State, Doug was commissioned through ROTC as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force. After training as an “Intercept Controller” and an initial assignment at a radar station near Battle Creek, he received orders in June 1953 to the Calumet Radar Station on the Keweenaw Peninsula. On little more than one week’s notice, Doug and Norma Lee were married and traveled to Calumet for his new assignment, beginning what would become seven decades of residence in the Copper Country and almost 72 years of marriage.
Following Doug’s separation from active-duty military service in 1954, he and Norma Lee returned to Michigan State, where he earned an M.S. in “Counseling and Student Personnel” before returning to the Copper Country, where, in 1955, Doug began what would become a more than 30-year career at Michigan Technological University. He served first as a counselor and residence hall manager (of the newly opened Wadsworth Hall), then as Director of Housing, and then as Assistant Dean of Students. Following two more brief stints at Michigan State, Doug completed his Ph.D. in “Higher Education Administration and Finance” in 1966 and returned to Michigan Tech to become Director of Institutional Analysis, a position he held until his retirement from MTU in 1988. In that position, he played a significant role in transforming the campus from the pre-1960s “legacy” layout into the form it has today.
Service to his country and community was an integral part of Doug’s life. Doug continued his military service in the Air Force Reserve and later the Navy Reserve, retiring at the rank of Navy Captain after 33 total years of military service. An Eagle Scout, he continued his scouting involvement for much of his adult life, serving multiple times as a pack/troop/Sea Explorer committee member at the local level, as well as District and Council Commissioner and Executive Board member for the Boy Scouts’ Hiawathaland Council. He served as a member of the Strategic Planning Committee for the Peninsula Waters Girls Scout Council and as a member of the local Girl Scout Camp Development Committee. He was a recipient of the Boy Scouts’ Silver Beaver award for distinguished service to youth. He was a life member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and a long-time member of the Kiwanis Club of the Copper Country. He served for five years on the Houghton County Parks and Recreation Committee (1970-75), was the Chairman of the Church Building Committee for Portage Lake United Church in Houghton and served on the Portage Lake District Library Board for several years.
Following retirement from Michigan Tech, Doug’s vocation became stewarding the Keweenaw Community Foundation (KCF), which he helped found in 1994. He served as the Foundation’s Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors for a number of years. Last year the KCF celebrated its 30th anniversary and according to its 2024 annual report, now has over $12 million under management and supports over 60 nonprofit organizations in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties. (Doug liked to tell the story of attending a U.P.-wide community foundation conference shortly after the KCF’s founding, and feeling like an imposter because at the time, the KCF had only $27 in the bank!)
Early experience with Sea Explorers sparked Doug’s lifelong love of sailing. As a newlywed he built a 24-foot wooden cabin cruiser, which he and Norma Lee used for trips to Isle Royale National Park with their young family. However, an opportunity to borrow a colleague’s sailboat during a sabbatical leave cemented Doug’s preference for sailboats. The cabin cruiser was eventually traded for a sailboat and many family adventures were had exploring Isle Royale and the north shore of Lake Superior.
In addition to his parents, Doug was preceded in death by his sister, Caroline Adams. He is survived by his wife, Norma Lee; his three children, Ted Stuart (Nadija Packauskas), Carol Sciberras (John Sciberras), and Sheryl Stuart; and three grandchildren, Laura Ely (Skylar Coelho), Jonathan Ely and Robert Stuart.
A public memorial service for Doug will be held on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at Portage Lake United Church in Houghton. Visitation will be at 10:15 a.m. and service at 11:00 a.m., followed by a luncheon at the church. Doug’s ashes will be interred at Forest Hill Cemetery in Houghton that afternoon, beginning around 1:30 p.m. All are welcome.
To send condolences to the family, please visit www.oneilldennisfh.com. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to the Keweenaw Community Foundation or to one of the Foundation’s affiliated funds (www.keweenawgives.org).
The family would like to thank all those who contributed to Doug’s rich and full life.
Comments