Obituary of Trey (John Ballard) Stewart, III

Trey (John Ballard) Stewart, III Trey was born in Aurora, Colorado in the Fitzsimons Army Hospital on June 15, 1968. He was the first child of Jane Griffin Stewart and John B. Stewart, Jr. Trey's father was a Navy officer stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver. Both of Trey's grandfathers were Methodist ministers in Texas. From his earliest days, Trey wanted to be in constant motion. He was always exceptionally gregarious, remarkably enthusiastic, bubbling over with energy, and he loved the outdoors and adventure. While living in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Trey's sister Tiffany was born. When Trey was three in 1971, his father was transferred to a ship in Norfolk, Virginia. They left their home in Aurora, and moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia. While in Virginia Beach, five-year-old Trey ran into the street in front of his home and was struck by a car. He spent several weeks recovering in the Navy hospital in Norfolk. While still in a half-body cast, Trey and his family drove to his third home in Fort Worth, Texas. While living in Fort Worth, his sister Wendy was born. In 1975, Trey and his family moved to Altoona, a small suburb of Des Moines, Iowa. Trey really enjoyed elementary school there. While living in Altoona, Trey's brother Tyler was born. This is where Trey lived when he was a Cub Scout. This was when he saw the first Star Wars movie. When he was ten in 1978, Trey moved with his family to his fifth home in Plano, Texas, where he attended middle school. During this time Trey and his family took several camping trips to Colorado and New Mexico. Trey loved camping. This is the period when Trey was in the Boy Scouts. At age fifteen in 1983, Trey moved with his family to his sixth home in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Trey graduated from Ridgefield High School in 1986. He worked after school and earned enough money to buy a classic 1968 Ford Mustang. He loved skiing, so after graduation he took a job at the Sugar Bush ski resort in Vermont. He worked there, skiing every day, until the spring of 1987 when he moved to California, working for a small electronics company. In the spring of 1988, Trey enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Trey loved the Navy, and he wanted to make it a career. He was trained as an aviation weapons systems electronics technician. In 1989, Trey was stationed aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Midway based in Yokosuka, Japan. While on the Midway Trey traveled to Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Dubai, Kenya, Thailand, the Philippines, and he saw a lot of Japan. In 1989 while on the Midway Trey participated in Operation Desert Storm for the liberation of Kuwait from Iraq. Notable personal things Trey did during this period were sand surfing on the dunes in the UAE, rock climbing in Phuket, Thailand, and a 600-mile cross-country drive in western Australia. In 1992 Trey was transferred to the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk that was based in San Diego. Trey was promoted to 2nd class aviation fire control technician, specializing in the advanced weapons sensors on the A-6 Intruder aircraft. (This Navy rank is equivalent to sergeant in the Army.) Trey especially enjoyed a cruise the ship made to Hawaii. While stationed in San Diego, Trey pursued his passion for outdoor sports along the major mountain ranges of the west coast, including the Sierra Nevada and Cascades. He enjoyed rock climbing, mountain biking, and most of all, skiing. In the winter of 1993, Trey was extreme skiing on Mammoth Mountain in California when he took a fall over a rocky cliff and tumbled down the rocky slope several hundred feet. Following rescue, Trey was transported back to the Naval hospital in San Diego where he was hospitalized for several weeks. Unfortunately, his injuries were so severe he could not continue in the Navy. He was honorably discharged in 1994. Trey earned numerous awards in the Navy, including: the Good Conduct Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Battle "E" Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal with three bronze stars, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, two Joint Meritorious Unit Commendations, Kuwait Liberation Medal, and the Navy Unit Commendation. In addition, Trey received five personal Letters of Commendation. Over the next two years Trey lived in San Diego and attended college at the University of California in San Diego and Mesa College. Using his extensive Navy experience and training, Trey took a job with the Eaton company working on the earliest versions of small radars mounted on eighteen-wheeler trucks to help prevent rear-end collisions, known as VORAD, vehicle-on-board-radar. In 2000, Eaton opened a manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Trey was transferred there. Trey worked with Eaton until 2002 when he took an electrical engineering position with Smiths Aerospace in Grand Rapids. General Electric acquired Smiths Aerospace in 2007. Trey purchased his first home in 2001, located in the far north part of Kalamazoo. He lived in that home for the rest of his life. Trey loved his home in Michigan and was determined to never move again. In 2002, Trey married Layla Jessup, a Michigan native. In 2007, Trey and Layla's son, John B. Stewart, IV was born. The family called him J.B. after his great grandfather. While commuting to Smiths in Grand Rapids and doing many things for his community in Parchment, Trey found the time to open a small restaurant in Kalamazoo. The restaurant specialized in pizzas and sandwiches. When J.B. was old enough to join the Cub Scouts, Trey became a scout leader. He really enjoyed working with the boys and he was very good at organizing scouting activities. When J.B. was old enough, he joined the Boy Scouts and Trey became a Boy Scout leader. They both loved scouting and being together as scouts. Trey taught JB that the scout oath and the twelve laws of scouting were excellent guidelines to strive for. As the grandson of two Methodist preachers, Trey grew up attending church every Sunday with his family. He remained religious his entire life, and he raised his son in the church and with good Christian values. Trey believed deeply in God and Jesus. At the end of his life, Trey was comforted by the fact that he knew his family would take good care of his precious son after he was gone. Trey was preceded in death by his mother in 2002. Trey is survived by his son, J.B., his former wife Layla, his sisters Tiffany and Wendy, his brother Tyler, and his father John B. Stewart, Jr.