Stuart John Colville

Stuart John Colville

March 25, 1952 - March 27, 2012

Stuart John Colville

March 25, 1952 - March 27, 2012

Obituary

Stuart John Colville passed away peacefully at the age of 60 surrounded by his loved ones on March 27, 2012 in Newport Beach. He is survived by his wife Susan McNally, his son Mario Colville, his mother Barbara Colville O’Donnell, and his sister Maryanne Colville.

Stuart was born in Orange, CA, attended Webb High School and recently enjoyed a high school reunion with his dear friends. He graduated from Lafayette College in PA where he played football and was an outgoing fraternity brother of Delta Tau Delta. He graduated from the Santa Barbara College of Law and passed the Bar in 1980.

A member of the California State Bar Association, American Bar Association; Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Orange County Bar Associations where Stuart practiced law for over 35 years. He acted as Judge Pro Tem & Arbitrator for the Santa Barbara Municipal and Superior courts.

Stuart is a past-president of the Sunrise Rotary Club in Santa Barbara and until his death was an active member of the Newport-Irvine Rotary Club. He enjoyed many volunteer activities including serving on the Board of Directors for the YMCA both in Santa Barbara and Orange County.

Stuart was happiest with one of his 4 cats on his lap, his Golden doodle Toby at his feet, and his loving wife by his side. With his wicked sense of humor, sharp wit and intelligence, and friendly ways, Stuart will be dearly missed by his loving family and many friends.

For more information on Stu’s life and to leave memories and comments, please visit www.legacy.com. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Rotary Foundation – please visit www.ni-rotary.org.

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19 responses to Stuart John Colville

  1. Susan says:

    I thank God for the many happy years we shared. I am truly saddened that Stu was taken from me so early in our journey. Although neither of us got it right on the first try, we knew we were each other’s one true love. We both accepted each other, as is, no conditions. And that was the most wonderful thing about Stu. He saw the best in everyone, he acknowledged that others come from different backgrounds, and he was always willing to take the time to listen, really listen, to understand their points of view & had true empathy of their values. Stu never judged, he just wanted what was best for everyone involved; from Rotary dealings to Public Policy. He loved talking politics; I’d hear him on the phone to his mother and/or friends every single day. A self-proclaimed political junkie, election nights were like Super Bowl games at our house.

    Stu and I had our first kiss under the fireworks on the 4th of July, 1997. We spent our second 4th of July drunkenly marching around the outside of our Goleta home carrying the flag and singing patriotic songs. Stu loved all holiday celebrations, but the 4th of July was always special to us. When he married into my large family, his adopted son Mario inherited a whole crew of cousins around his age to play with during the holidays.

    Stuart was in an auto accident about 10 years ago which injured his spine. He was never able to straighten up after the accident. It eventually completely and permanently fused his spine at a 45% angle due to a disease called ankylosing spondylosis. Stu went from a cane to a walker to an electric scooter in less than 10 years. But this condition never slowed Stu down or damped his spirits. He remained active in Rotary as well as his law practice. This medical condition ultimately attacked his other body systems, his lungs, kidneys and finally his heart and liver.

    Stuart loved being at home with our family; he especially loved his Goldendoodle, Toby. He was the pied piper to our 4 cats, Barney, Beasley, Muffin and Fiona. No one loved animals more than Stu.

    Stu loved music. We enjoyed many concerts, especially last summer where every Sunday we would listen to concert bands in the local parks. Stu and I went to many Country music concerts including Brookes and Dunn, Toby Keith, Trace Adkins and Alan Jackson. I included many of his favorite songs and artist at his funeral service.
    Stuart had a large turn-out of just over 100 attendees. Many, many, many more contacted me to let me know they would have liked to have attended. Stuart, with his kind heart and loving ways will be missed by all, but especially his family. Rest in Peace my Love, xoxox

  2. Toby says:

    Stuart wrote this in September 2004 as an introduction to the Newport-Irvine Rotary Club. ———–

    Stuart Colville was born at St, Joseph’s Hospital in Orange. As a result of this landmark event, the address of the hospital was changed to Stewart Street. The embarrassment of the city spelling Stuart incorrectly caused the infant to flee to Riverside where he grew up.

    Stu went east to Pennsylvania for college and was graduated from Lafayette College with a degree in Psychology (beer and poker) before returning to California for law school, where he received a JD degree with honors from Santa Barbara College of Law in 1979.

    Stu stayed in Santa Barbara until this past September, when he and wife Susan McNally moved to the upper back bay part of Newport Beach. The move was to allow her to accept a position with a medical software company based in Irvine and to allow them to live closer to family in Orange County.

    Over the last 25 years, Stuart’s law practice has covered a wide variety of both civil and criminal subject matter. He now serves in both Santa Barbara and Orange County with a general civil litigation practice.

    Stu was a member of the Montecito Rotary Club from 1981 until 1985 when he joined the new Santa Barbara Sunrise club. He was President of that club in 1988-89 and is a Paul Harris Fellow. In Santa Barbara his community service included numerous volunteer and board positions with the YMCA, Red Cross, Heart Association and Santa Barbara Fisherman’s Festival. He is looking forward to becoming equally involved in his new community.

  3. I remember Stu when I was best friends with his sister MaryAnn. Taught me how to play War and a couple other card games.

  4. I definitely appreciate the comments. He was a good father. I definitely learned alot from him. How to be kind towards others. He showed me love. I miss you dad. Everyday. I miss our talks. I could tell you everything and you didn’t judge me. Even though it was your perfection. Thanks everyone for the comments.

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