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William G. Stewart Jr., 84, orthopedist who loved alpacas

Dr. Stewart tended 50 alpacas on his farm in Malvern. He admired the herd animals for their gentle nature and soft coat.

William G. Stewart Jr., 84, the retired chief of orthopedics at Bryn Mawr Hospital, who in his spare time tended 50 alpacas on his farm in Malvern, died Thursday, April 27, of cardiac arrest at Paoli Hospital.

Known as "Bud," Dr. Stewart began practicing with the Orthopedic Associates Group at Bryn Mawr Hospital in 1968. He was chief of the hospital's orthopedics department for 10 years, but had stepped down by the time he retired in 1995.

While working at Bryn Mawr, he also taught at Jefferson Medical College. In 1993, he was given Jefferson's John J. Gartland Award for commitment to the education of orthopedic residents.

"Jefferson residents do the voting for the award," said his wife, Gail W. Stewart. "It was the first time they picked someone who had not graduated from Jefferson to be honored." He had earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Dr. Stewart was the physician for Villanova University's football team, and team doctor for all sports at the Haverford School.

In July 1990, he was featured in an Inquirer story about then-new techniques to ensure the operating theater at Bryn Mawr was sterile. He was depicted preparing for surgery, with hands held above his waist, wearing scrubs and special headgear.

Born in Washington, Pa., southwest of Pittsburgh, he was the son of William and Katharine Stewart. He graduated in 1950 from East Washington High School as class valedictorian, and in 1954 from Princeton University, where he played football. While studying medicine at Penn, he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honorary Society, the physicians' equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa. He completed a medical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

Starting in March 1966, during the Vietnam War, Dr. Stewart served as a captain in the Army. He was stationed at Valley Forge Military Hospital in Phoenixville, performing orthopedic surgery on soldiers who were flown back to this country after they sustained wounds in combat. Many were housed in Unit 4-CD as they learned to live as amputees. He was appointed head of the orthopedic service at Valley Forge and received the National Defense Service Medal before being honorably discharged in March 1968.

Dr. Stewart regarded his tenure there as a unique learning opportunity. "He saw surgery he never could have seen anywhere else," his wife said.

Dr. Stewart married Gail Wieland in 1958. The couple lived at Rocky Run Farm in Malvern, where they reared five children and he pursued his passions of gardening and caring for the alpacas.

He first had a pet llama, and from time to time he kept horses, cattle, and goats on the farm, but when an opportunity arose to adopt alpacas in 1989, he went to New Jersey to see them and "fell in love," his wife said.

"They are herd animals," his wife said. "They don't want you to pet them, but you can halter-train them. They're just very gentle animals."

His wife said the alpaca coat is known for being as soft as cashmere, but "not itchy." For Dr. Stewart, the shearing of the animals and sale of the fibers for use in sweaters and other garments became a cottage industry.

"His farm and his animals brought him tremendous happiness," she said in a tribute.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by children William G. III, Kimberley Simmons, Amy Bunten, Daphne MacMillan, and Baird A.; 18 grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.

An 11 a.m. memorial service will be held Saturday, May 13, at Wayne Presbyterian Church, 125 Lancaster Ave., Wayne. Burial is private.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Bryn Mawr Hospital Foundation/Orthopedic Fund, 130 S. Bryn Mawr Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010.