Stuart was born in Nuneaton, England on January 19, 1947 to Eileen and John Lindsay. He lived in Nuneaton until he was 10 years old. It was then that his parents decided to immigrate to the United States, almost settling in Massachusetts. Almost, because over the next few years the family returned to England, then returned to the US and almost returned to England once again, but finally settled in Simi, CA. It was a lot of displacement for him.
Stuart always had a love for dogs and horses. When he and his sister, Anne, were in high school, they would ride through the river bed in Simi, galloping, he would pass her and take the bridle off her horse along the way. His sister became quite an accomplished rider! He always had a dog……….bp (before Pam) he had English Staffordshire Bull Terriers which he showed in the ring, and outside the show circuit he had a wonderful Doberman, Border Terriers (4), and conceded to Pam’s wishes to have 2 Airedale Terriers.
Stuart served in the US Army from 1966 to 1972, was in Vietnam for 18 months, and met a lifelong friend, Bob Swift. They had been through hell………….and made it. Not like so many of their friends and fellow soldiers. They kept in touch right to the end.
Stuart’s love of horses never left him. After his service in the Army he became a Farrier and continued shoeing horses part time till just a few months before his death. He just loved being around them. I sometimes wondered why it took him so long to do a horse, but have found out that while the horse may have taken 1.5 hours to shoe, he also enjoyed visiting for at least equal time with their owners, many of whom have become endearing and precious friends. Being a Farrier has its risks though, so he became a communications technician with the phone company full time ‘alongside?’ for an accumulation of 35 years. He enjoyed his work and enjoyed the people he worked with more!
Stuart was very active. He enjoyed soccer, field hockey, camping, tai chi, and dabbled in tennis, bike riding, fencing, archery, rowing, and then there was golf. He never ‘caught the bug’ but still enjoyed playing every now and then. He played soccer with an adult league, and played field hockey with the Roadrunners, which Robert and Whitney both joined as they became older. He enjoyed playing tennis at VC and bike riding anywhere………to the gym, camping, or just on the road. He not only loved his children but took great joy in being involved with what they were doing. You couldn’t meet a more proud father that really enjoyed his children.
Stuart was engulfed with soccer, and volunteered as a referee with AYSO when the children were younger. But his real love was watching it, particularly the English Premier League. He had an uncanny ability to ‘correct’ the referee’s decisions from over 6,000 miles away! Every so often he would call me in to ask my opinion……………(“sorry, Stuart, it was a foul that deemed a red card”).
After a couple of trips when he was first married and the children were young he didn’t really enjoy traveling, maybe because of the relocations in his youth. After his children were grown he mentioned that he actually missed camping, which we did with the kids a few times a year. Grabbing that thought, he was ‘encouraged’ to get an Airstream trailer. He said that was fine, but we would have to use it more than 3 times a year. While ‘glamping’ in Buellton we met a lovely couple, Paula and Ed Poll. They told us about their Airstream camping club and invited us to join them on their next rally. It was a perfect fit! Stuart absolutely loved the people we met in the club and always looked forward to seeing each and every one again and again. He agreed that they were all much diversified and very special people. We increased our camping experiences to at least 1-2 times or more each month…(go figure!) and took more extensive trips in the trailer to Canada and across the country to Florida and Kentucky! He really enjoyed the people we met along the way.
Memories will last a lifetime…………if passed down, maybe more.
He will be missed and remembered by many.
A celebration of life will be held in Stuart’s honor on Friday, November 9, 2018, 4:00 – 7:00 P.M., at the River Ridge Golf Club, 2401 West Vineyard Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93036.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation at https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/PFFTribute/StuartLindsay
Arrangements are under the direction of the Ted Mayr Funeral Home.
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