Stewart Scott Galt

Stewart Scott Galt of Somerset, Franklin Township, New Jersey died on January 8, 2024 of pneumonia. He was much beloved by family and community members until his death at age 96. Born on September 23, 1927 in St. Louis, Missouri to Martin Epler Galt and Carrie Scott Galt, Stewart grew up the youngest of four brothers. Throughout his life he spent summers at the family cottage in Macatawa along Lake Michigan.

Stewart attended Saint Louis Country Day School where he was literary editor of the yearbook, on the school paper staff and a member of the Student Council. He joined Princeton University’s Class of 1949 where he won the William C D’Arcy Freshman Scholarship and was a member of the Whig-Cliosophic debating society and the Prospect Club. He graduated from

Princeton with an A.B in United States and Modern European History in 1950. Serving in the United States Air Force, Stewart continued his Russian language studies begun at Princeton by completing a year of intensive study at Syracuse University. Stationed in West Germany, he worked in Air Force intelligence and surveillance. Stewart met and fell in love with Liliane Sommer of Bern, Switzerland and the two were married on June 5, 1954 in Ferguson, Missouri.

Following his military service, Stewart earned a Bachelor’s of Foreign Trade from the American Institute for Foreign Trade at Thunderbird in Glendale, Arizona in 1956. From Arizona, Stewart and Liliane moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin where he started his 39-year career in the export and sales divisions of Simmons Company. He moved with his job and growing family to Havana Cuba, where they witnessed the Cuban Revolution firsthand, and later to Homewood IL, Roswell GA and eventually to Westfield NJ, where he and Liliane lived for 40 years.

Known fondly for his kindness and keen wit, Stewart was a devoted husband and father,an avid reader, bridge player, linguist, opera lover and family genealogist. Stewart and Liliane traveled extensively around the United States, took numerous trips to visit family in Switzerland, the former Yugoslavia, Taiwan, India, and China, and spent many winters exploring various parts of Mexico.

Stewart and Liliane (d. 2014) are survived by sons Stephan Sommer Galt and his wife Carol Beth Galt, Frederick “Fritz” Mahler Galt and his wife Jennifer Zimdahl Galt, and James Martin Galt and his wife Yu Hsing Galt, grandchildren Emma Jane Locke, Adam Stephan Galt, Phoebe Anna Galt, Dylan Chase Galt, and Gwendolyn Sommer Galt, and great granddaughter Hannah Sophia Locke.

Stewart was an active, longtime member of the Westfield Presbyterian Church in Westfield, New Jersey and he was buried alongside Liliane at the Burial Ground of The Presbyterian Church in Westfield, New Jersey. The family is holding a private memorial service. Arrangements are by Gray Funeral Directors of Westfield. Please go to: www.grayfuneralhomes.com to offer condolences.