Cannon Beach bids farewell to the potter

Published 5:00 pm Tuesday, April 12, 2011

“… and I would pass from this world to the promise of the next.”

      -Jays blog, Feb 26, 2010

Cannon Beach potter Jay Patrick Stewart passed away March 30 in his Hamlet Route home after a battle with lung cancer. He died in his own bed, with his wife and children at his side and a soft rain falling outside. He was 54.

Stewart, owner of local pottery shop House of the Potter, will be remembered as a passionate man of deep faith and gentle bearing, a giver of “monster hugs,” equal parts inspired and inspiring, a spinner of gorgeous cups, plates and bowls, a man who used his gifts to better his surroundings and relentlessly encouraged those around him to do the same.

Stewart was born Dec. 20, 1956, in Quincy, Ill., to Edward Maurice Stewart and Catherine Louise Stewart (Weech). He connected with his love of pottery in high school, says son Jesse Stewart, and pursued that interest more seriously while studying at Western Oregon State College from 1975 to 1978. He married his wife, Laura Stewart, July 23, 1977. After Stewart finished college, he and his new wife moved to Clatsop County to go into business with Stewarts parents, who had opened a Christian gift and bookstore in Cannon Beach.

Stewart sold his art there, and when his parents retired, he and Laura turned the shop into a pottery store.

“While in the jaws of the blackness of that beast, I was reassured that I am not alone and I need not fear, for the God that loves me will not let me fall.  Out of that experience my spirit, my faith, was strengthened and renewed.”

    -Jays blog, Feb 26, 2010

Stewart was a family man through and through, and devoted to his wife, his children and his neighbors.

He was proud of his family and he was proud of his community, remembered Jesse Stewart. He lived out the things he was passionate about and encouraged it in other people.

Stewart volunteered for the Hamlet Fire Department and coached young students for the Lower Columbia Youth Soccer Association.

Fellow firefighters recall Stewart as a man who emboldened his comrades with his steadiness under pressure, while those who watched him coach say he had a special knack for shepherding his teams with a firm but tender hand.

He was very uplifting and encouraging, said Debbie Nelson, whose children grew up with the Stewarts kids and whose daughter benefited from Stewarts coaching. He pushed them to do their best work as a team.

Nelson still remembers the way hed call out Well done! at the end of every game.

Even when his players moved on to high school teams, Nelson says, theyd often look up from the fields seeking the guidance or encouragement of their old coach, who sat cheering them on from the sidelines.

He touched so many of our childrens lives, she said.

Stewart was also deeply religious, and used his faith as a point of focus throughout his life and as a touchstone as his illness progressed.

“As a potter and a man of faith, he had a keen sense of the center,” said Community Presbyterian Church Pastor David Robinson. “Not just with clay, but truth, life and wisdom … he made it look so easy.”

“Spiritually I was challenged by the question, posed in so many words by those physicians at OHSU, am I ready to die, today?  A year ago, if asked that question, Im not sure how I would have answered.   Today, I know I am ready, and blessed to be able to experience each and every day as if it is my last.”

    -Jays blog, Sept. 26, 2010

In the week following his death, says Jesse Stewart, the family received a barrage of calls from Stewarts former students, all of them wanting to share stories of the way hed pushed them to follow their dreams.

They had all these vignettes about how Dad would sit them down and tell them, You have to pursue what youre passionate about That was a lasting message for them.

Jesse Stewart, too, was the recipient of such wisdom. Just before his father was officially diagnosed in summer 2009, he accompanied his father on the last of many, many father-son hikes up Saddle Mountain. Jesse Stewart was studying law and had found himself at a crossroads: he’d fallen in love with the idea of becoming a public defender, but was hesitant to sacrifice the material comforts a cushy law firm posting would entail. Would it be worth the trade?

“Jesse, you only get one shot,” his father told him.

The decision was made. Jesse Stewart decided to pursue his passion, and he has never looked back.

Jay Stewart delighted in his work at the pottery wheel, and in creating art that was both beautiful and functional.

He took great pride in being a potter and making things people used every day, Jesse Stewart said. Probably 100,000 people wake up every morning and have coffee in a mug made by my dad.

Aside from his community and family commitments, Stewart enjoyed spending time out in nature. An avid runner, hiker and backpacker, he loved the woods. Over time, he decorated much of the family property with his ceramic creations, lining trails that led into the mountains and down to the water.

From an early age, Stewart had an “insatiable and diverse appetite for learning,” said his sister, Jacqueline Stewart, and he remained “productive and engaged with family and friends” throughout his illness.

Stewart was also quite the conversationalist, and enjoyed holding court at the family dinner table, according to Jesse Stewart: Wed talk for hours at the dinner table about a wide range of issues. He was engaged and very interested in the world near and far.

During his illness, Stewart kept that conversation going through a blog that tracked his battle with lung cancer.

Local artist Kim Barnett didnt get to know Stewart well until hed already become ill, but Barnett says he was touched and inspired by Stewarts approach to living, even when his days ran short.

My brief amount of time with Jay was amazing, he said. He showed me the quality of his life and family and dignity more than anybody Ive ever met. He was an amazing human being.

I have no sense how long I have to live.  Hospice requires a statement from a physician that I have less then 6 months.  But be it 6 months, 6 weeks, 6 days, or even hours, only the Lord will determine the length of my stay.  I will spend the remaining time left to me in prayer, and serving out Gods purpose, one day at a time.

-Jays blog, Feb. 14, 2011

Stewart is survived by wife Laura Stewart of Cannon Beach, son Jesse Stewart and daughter-in-law Rebecca Kockler of Charlottesville, Va., daughter Rebecca Stewart-Johnson and son-in-law Chris Johnson of Tacoma, Wash., daughter Margaret Stewart of Cannon Beach, daughter Alice Stewart of Phoenix, Ariz., sister Jeanne Stewart of Cannon Beach, brother Joseph and sister-in-law Patty Stewart of Spokane, Wash., sister Jan Stewart of Seaside, sister Joyce Stewart and brother-in-law Jim Lewis of Hailey, Idaho, sister Jacqueline Stewart and brother-in-law Pete Thomas of Woodside, Calif., brother Jerry Stewart and sister-in-law Karen Stewart of Salem, Ore. Brother John Stewart and sister-in-law Carolyn Stewart of Papua New Guinea.

Arrangements are in care of Caldwells Funeral & Cremation Arrangement Center. A memorial service was held April 9. Memorial contributions may be made to one of these two organizations: Philanthropic Educational Organization, Chapter FB, care of Sue Peterson, P.O. Box 2835, Gearhart, Ore., 97138; or Hamlet Rural Fire Department, care of Bill Boone, 37564 Highway 26, Seaside, Ore., 97138.

To read Jay Stewarts blog, go online to caringbridge.org/visit/jaystewart1.