Louis O. "Lou" Stewart (January 1, 1915 – March 26, 2002) was a prominent labor leader in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. Stewart grew up in logging camps and attended 23 different grade schools. Following service in the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he received his diploma from Weatherwax High School in

Aberdeen, Washington Aberdeen () is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,013 at the 2020 census. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. Aberdeen is occasi ...

. A journeyman

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

before and after the war, Stewart entered the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

on the

GI Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

in 1950, earning a degree in Industrial Sociology. While attending graduate school, he went to work for the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

city government, helping to develop the first

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

system in Washington State. In 1960, he helped the territorial government of

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develop its civil service system. Stewart joined the staff of the

Washington State Labor Council The Washington State Labor Council is the Washington branch of the AFL–CIO. It represents all AFL–CIO affiliates in state politics, and its major interest group, particularly for Democratic politicians. The organization was split when several n ...

in 1967 and worked there until his retirement in 1982. During that time, Stewart was the Labor Council's chief state lobbyist in

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. A lifelong

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, he was a delegate to the 1972 national convention. Throughout his career and following retirement, he served on a number of boards and commissions, including the National Public Broadcasting Commission, KCPQ Channel 13, Group Health Cooperative, and the state's Centennial and Marine Employees Commissions. Upon Stewart's death in 2002, then-State Labor Council President Rick Bender said, "There was no major issue facing the State Legislature in the '70s and '80s that didn't have Lou Stewart's involvement, and he was known on both sides of the aisle for absolute honesty and integrity."

Irene Stewart

Stewart's daughter, Irene, was born November 29, 1957, in

, and raised in Olympia. She graduated from

William Winlock Miller High School Olympia High School (OHS), commonly referred to as Oly, is a public high school in the southeast part of Olympia, Washington along the city's border with Tumwater. It is the oldest of two comprehensive high schools in the Olympia School District, ...

in 1975 and the

in 1979. In November 2003, she was elected to the Seattle School District Board of Directors, District VI, which includes the

West Seattle West Seattle is a conglomeration of neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the thirteen districts, Delridge and Southwest, and encompasses all of Seattle west of the Duwamish River. It was incorporated as an i ...

and

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neighborhoods of Seattle. Stewart left the Board in 2007.

External links

''The Seattle Times'' obituary''The Olympian'' obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Lou Politicians from Seattle United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II 1915 births 2002 deaths Trade unionists from Washington (state) People from Aberdeen, Washington