Robert S. Stewart, 89, engineer and businessman

Robert S. Stewart, 89, of Malvern, a chemical engineer and retired owner of a company, died Friday, Aug. 24, of pancreatic cancer at Waverly Heights retirement community in Gladwyne.

Mr. Stewart grew up in New York City. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., on a scholarship before enlisting in the Navy.

During World War II, he was a lieutenant commanding gunboats in the South Pacific.

After his discharge, he earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from RPI.

In 1948, he married Ruth Ann Dwyer. They had met on a blind date.

Mr. Stewart and his wife raised two children in Rosemont while he pursued a career with Sharp & Dohme, now Merck, and at Quaker Chemical Corp. In the 1970s, he founded Annandale Corp., a specialty chemical company, and established a plant and offices in Charlotte, N.C.

He and his wife returned to the Main Line when he sold Annandale and retired in 1986.

After his wife died in 2002, Mr. Stewart divided his time between Gladwyne and Naples, Fla., where he was a member of the International Men's Club of Naples. He moved to Malvern last year.

He believed in giving back, said his son, Robert, and was a contributor to several organizations, including the Disabled Veterans National Foundation, the American Red Cross, Boys Town, and Rensselaer. He funded two scholarships to Mount St. Michael's Academy in New York, where he had been a scholarship student, his son said.

Mr. Stewart was active with several politically conservative groups, such as the Heritage Foundation, the James Madison Institute, and the tea party.

He enjoyed playing bridge and reading and was a student of American history, especially the history of the Constitution, his son said.

Mr. Stewart is survived by his son. A daughter, Diane, died in 2009.

Friends may call from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31, at McConaghy Funeral Home, 328 W. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore. A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 1, at St. John Vianney Roman Catholic Church, 350 Conshohocken State Rd., Gladwyne. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken.