He was smart and funny. At any given time, he could be a police officer, administrator, volunteer, librarian, mayor, alderman, and advisor; he was a jack-of-all-trades, according to those that knew him.

Stewart “Stew” L. Darrah left his friends and family Jan. 9, 2019, when he died at his residence. Those who knew him, miss him.

Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman said he first met Stew when he went to work for the Gasconade County Sheriff’s Department. 

“Stew and I became friends when we worked in Gasconade County together,” Heitman recalls. 

That was in 2001, and they have been friends ever since. “We spent the last 18 years of my life together.”

Heitman said his own father passed when he was 18 years-old, and Stew filled some of the void, taking him in. Stew was also close to Heitman’s mother before she died.

“Since 2002, we spent every Christmas and New Year’s Eve together,” Hietman said. His daughter, Landry, doesn’t remember a Christmas without Stew.

Sometimes those holidays were on-duty, sometimes it was a Christmas party.

“I always give the deputies Christmas Day off,” Heitman said. “Stew road with me last Christmas, and we arrested a couple of people. He was never at a loss for words.”

Officer Brian Brennan said Stew was “a great guy.” He kept on eye on the other guys in law enforcement, and was especially fond of Heitman.

“He was running dispatch duty in 2005, and there was that shoot out in Mt. Sterling when Chris was shot,” Brennan remembers. “They called ‘shots fired’ and ‘officer down.’ He was feeling pretty helpless sitting in the dispatcher booth. He was along with us for our whole career.”

Stew didn’t have a bad word to say about anyone.

“He dedicated his life to public service,” Brennan said.

Stew made a habit of learning something every day.

“He was knowledgeable about a lot of stuff and most people didn’t know what he was talking about,” Brennan said.

Alderman Ken Stanfield said he knew Stew from Heartland Regional Library.

“I liked Stew as a friend,” Stanfield said. “He was community-minded. He did a lot of volunteer work and was a pretty nice guy.”

Stanfield said it was Stew who recommended authors Clive Cussler, C.J. Box, and Lee Child.

“I’m stuck on ‘em,” Stanfield laughed. “He was always looking for a book for me.”

Stew was also bilingual, meaning he spoke multiple languages. As it happened, Stanfield knew a smattering of different languages himself.

“We would go down to the library, and I would talk German to him and he would speak Swedish to me,” Stanfield said. “We had a good time down there, laughing about that.”

They also watched the same PBS detective shows.

“We would go down there (to the library), and talk about it and what was on that night,” Stanfield said. “We would talk politics all the time.”

Stanfield he knew first hand that Stew loved to cook, as they were invited to dinner at the residence of Kay Wortman, the former librarian, and Stew would do the cooking. 

It was Stew that encouraged Stanfield to run for alderman. That same year, Stanfield was elected alderman, and Stew wasn’t.

“We had our differences,” Stanfield added. “But other than that, he was a good guy.”

Stew never seemed to mind filling holes and volunteering for positions that others didn’t want. He served as Belle mayor from 2014-16, and offered to serve as alderman when former alderman Richard Huse resigned.

Belle Mayor Josh Seaver said Stew made himself available and offered advice while Seaver was acclimating the first couple of months after he was elected.

“After I got elected, I had a few minor questions,” Seaver said. “He was always willing, whatever advice he could give me, he didn’t hesitate to share.”

Seaver thought that was interesting, since he voted for Stew when he was running for mayor. 

Stew has volunteered and helped with administrative work at the Belle Police Department — and worked as a part-time officer until 2016 with the Maries County Sheriff’s Department. Belle Marshal Joe Turnbough said he met Stew in 2010, when he became city marshal.

“Stew was a great friend and a true colleague,” Turnbough said. “He used to make us cookies for the Christmas (dinner) giveaways.”

Turnbough said he worked with Stew the first six months of his career at the Maries County Sheriff’s Department and Stew was a dispatcher. Stew always went above and beyond what was expected.

“He always participated in alot of our events,” Turnbough said. “He spent Christmas and Thanksgiving with us. Just a good, dear friend. I am going to miss him.”

Andrea McDonald, a Heartland Library volunteer said he was the smartest man she knew.

“We have already, just on Thursday and part of Friday, in our daily activities, we think ‘Stewart would know that’, but then he isn’t there,” McDonald said. “He was just a very smart person, and we learned from him.”

Heitman said his friend and mentor will be missed.

“For the time he has been in Belle, he really made his mark there,” Heitman said. “He always cared about the community and really wanted to give back.” 

A memorial visitation, memorial services, and a ceremony to spread ashes have been scheduled. For more information on services and details about Stew’s life, see page 4, obituaries.