James (Jim) passed away with his wife of 49 years at his side. Jim has been battling Alzheimer's disease for 10 years and on April 21, 2014 lost his battle. He was born in Blunt, South Dakota on April 28, 1938 and grew up a farmer's son. Not wanting to be a farmer, Jim moved to California where he graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with his degree in Engineering. He began his career with Hughes Aircraft in Fullerton, CA in 1965, married and moved to Santa Ana to raise his family. He was a man with many talents which included building a cabin in Big Bear, building a boat, however his biggest love was the Thorpe Airplane he built and flew to South Dakota a few times. In 1997, Jim and Betty now retired, moved to a community in Indio which had a golf course as he was a avid golfer. Jim was predeceased by his brother Richard Stuart. He is survived by his wife Betty Stuart; their son, Jason Stuart and his wife, Martiza and their daughter, Samantha; his brother and sister-in-law, Fred and Naomi Stuart; his sister and brother-in-law, Shirley and Joe Marshall; along with many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 10:00 am on April 29th at Fairhaven Memorial Park and Mortuary, 1702 Fairhaven, Santa Ana, CA 92705. In lieu of flowers, please make donation in Memory of James L. Stuart to The Alzheimer's Association s of Palm Desert 69730 Highway 111, Ste 100, Rancho Mirage, Ca 92270.