Stewart Page

Kerrville Stewart E. Page, 79, of Kerrville, passed from this life on Saturday afternoon, May 31, 2008 at a local hospital.Born in St. Johnsbury, VT on July 30, 1928, he was the son of Eugene and Pearle Richards Page. His youth was spent in New England until he joined the US Army during the Korean War. He also served in the US National Guards and was honorably discharged.He met and married Hazel, in St. Johnsbury, VT and they moved to Arizona for a few years. He got his pilots license and enjoyed flying over the desert. Then a move to California offered opportunities for employment. At first, it was body and fender work. If the tools on hand didnt do the job, Stew created new ones.Boats and fiberglass tooling caught his attention and he started building master plugs for ski boats in his garage. His business grew to become Kona Boats and he had two large buildings built in Westminster, CA. When gasoline prices went out of sight during the Nixon years, dealers started canceling boat orders and the business went under. To make matters worse, he lost his wife of over 25 years to cancer.He met and married Jan in Huntington Beach, CA and Wellcraft Boats hired him to help design and build the master plug for the Monterrey, a 36 footer. Then American Aircraft Corporation in Long Beach, CA hired Stew to build the master plug for a VTOL jet, the Phalanx. Several molds were pulled, but the project only got to the prototype stage.Kaminari Corp. offered the opportunity to work on er projects such as wings and spoilers for cars. One day, Carrol Shelby brought in a design for a new class of racing car. Stew built the master plug for the body. Next came the NFL Helmet cars which were designed to be driven onto the football field to pick up injured players. The cab was in the shape of a football helmet and painted with the team colors and logo.For relaxation, Stew enjoyed riding dirt bikes in the California desert every winter.He moved to Texas after he retired, but spend summers in New England for many years. He and his wife enjoyed cruises and visited 21 countries.But retirement wasnt for him. He always liked to build and he could make a Cadillac out of a cup of soup. So it wasnt long before he started restoring motorcycles. He just finished a couple of fenders for Lyle Lovett. His favorite pastime was playing pool with the guys and he took time for it every day.He is predeceased by his first wife, Hazel Page his parents and a brother, Chester Page.Mr. Page is survived by a brother, Preston Page of AZ his nieces, Patricia Schwartzman and her husband, John, of Salina, KS, Debbie Page of AZ his nephews, Mike Page, and wife Patti, of Carlsbad, CA, Sean Page of CO and Scott Page of HI 2 great nephews, Tim Stewart and wife, Antoinette, of Westminster, CA and Mike Page, and wife Pam, of Temecula, CA 2 great nieces, Amy Weyer, and husband Tim, of Victorville, CA and Robyn Hoff of San Bernito, TX his former wife, Janice Page of Kerrville 2 stepdaughters, Leann Tobias and husband J.B., of Fredericksburg, TX and Lori Dunn, and her husband Danny, of Houston, TX stepgrandchildren great grandchildren, and greatgreat nieces and nephews.A private celebration of his life was held on Monday, June 2, 2008.In lieu of floral arrangements, the family asks that monetary donations be made to the Hill Country Youth Ranch or MD Anderson Hospital.

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