Mr. Stewart Christopher Guy

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Mr. Stewart Christopher Guy, of Easton, died on Nov. 2, 2018, surrounded by his family. He was 65.

Born on Jan. 16, 1953, in Nassawadox, he was a son of Billye Farmer Guy and the late William Herbert Guy.

Upon graduating from high school, he joined the Army, traded Delmarva marshes for Bavarian barracks, and spent two years guarding the nuclear-armed Nike Hercules missiles in West Germany. His European tour concluded, he moved to Richmond to attend Virginia Commonwealth University.

Once there, he rekindled an old flame with a young woman he’d never quite forgotten. The two would marry on June 20, 1981.

Before long he discovered his true calling — as an honest-to-god newspaper man. In newsrooms across Virginia and Maryland, he won several awards for his writing, earned a reputation as a damn good journalist, and attached his name to over 1,000 bylines at the Baltimore Sun alone.

Humble to a fault, he was a great writer. “Powdery gray dust clouds rise around her ankles with each footstep, then hang and drift on the breeze as Trinidad Tovar bustles about the bare dirt yard outside the concrete and cinderblock house she shares with her three grown sons and their families. Nearby, a listless menagerie of chickens, goats, a burro and two scrawny dogs wait for a handout,” went one of his patently stellar ledes.

Of his countless stories, the finest ones all centered on the tiny stretch of land where he, a native Eastern Shoreman, spent most of his life. As a staff writer covering the Delmarva peninsula, there was no better chronicler of the region’s industries, people, and towns, and no bigger champion of its unique beauty and charm.

He loved to torture his wife and children with unrequested renditions of his favorite songs. Always performed solo and a cappella, his oeuvre included Merle Haggard, Steve Earle, and the occasional nod to Thin Lizzy. Lest his boys neglect to remember, he was quick to remind them that “if that chick don’t wanna know, forget her.”

He passionately followed UVA basketball, Orioles baseball, and Haverford lacrosse. He adored talking politics with family and friends and never let a good punchline pass him by. There was little he enjoyed more than standing in the driveway — the air crisp, the leaves orange, yellow, brown — listening as the geese flew by overhead.

He is survived by his wife, Melissa Grimes-Guy, and his sons, Alexander Guy, of Paris, France, and Dylan Guy, of Brooklyn, N.Y. He is also survived by his mother, Billye; his sister, Elizabeth McGlothlin and husband, Bill; brother, William and wife, Holly; and sister, Susan Morey and husband, Andrew, all of Melfa; as well as many nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Chris’ life was held on Saturday, Nov. 17, at the Third Haven Friends Meeting House in Easton.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Lewy Body Dementia Association at https://www.lbda.org/donate

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