JohnSTUARTMr John Joseph Stuart, affectionately known as ‘Jay’ to family and friends, sadly passed away, three days before his 82nd birthday on Thursday, July 21. Born July 24, 1940, in Seaforth, Liverpool, he was the first child born to James and Josephine Stuart. As a baby they called him by his initials ‘J.J.’ which was eventually shortened to ‘Jay’. Two years later his sister Valerie was born, followed by two brothers, Anthony and Alan. Sadly Alan passed away suddenly in 2006. Jay grew up in the Crosby area of Liverpool and attended St. Bede’s Secondary Modern school - a newly built school at the time - and he was the school’s very first Head Boy. After a relatively short career as a qualified pipefitter/welder, he was soon poached by his cousin, Valentine, to work for NewsMags, Crosby, a well known large newsagent in the area. He had worked for NewsMags doing a paper round for them from the age of eight. Jay was introduced to Dorothy (Dot), who was visiting from Canada with her two sons, Roy and David. Following Dorothy’s divorce, Jay and Dot were married in June 1966 and Jay adopted both of Dot’s boys and gave them his surname of Stuart. Jay had a pet name for his wife, Dot, and he affectionately referred to her as Dolly. Jay and Dot opened their own newsagents and grocery business in Litherland, which they ran for about 12 years. They eventually sold up and moved to Waterloo where Jay found work as a taxi driver. They were to live there for the next 20 years until Dot sadly passed away in 2003. Jay retired and went to live with his eldest son Roy and his family in Rossendale in 2017. As a young man Jay enjoyed playing football and had a stint as a semi-professional for Marine A.F.C. in Crosby in the late 50’s and early 60’s. A knee injury put paid to his footballing career, but he went into coaching and studied for the coveted qualification of Football Association Coach. He was proud to wear his blazer with the FA Coach badge with the Three Lions emblazoned across the breast pocket. Jay leaves behind his two sons, Roy and David, nine grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren, also his brother Anthony and sister Valerie. A funeral service will take place on Tuesday, August 9, at Burnley Crematorium at 2.30pm, conducted by Kathy Unsworth. Funeral director: Caroline Dewhurst for Johnson, Durning & Woods Funeral Service, Haslingden.
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