James Colin Stewart

James Colin Stewart, 90, formerly of Gilby, North Dakota, died on February 14, 2026, in Easley, South Carolina. Jim Stewart, the son of John Colin Stewart and Eleanor (Trowbridge) Stewart, was born on September 24, 1935, in Fargo, North Dakota. Growing up on the Stewart family farm in Gilby with three beloved older brothers profoundly shaped Jim’s lifelong identity as a proud member and proponent of the North Dakota farming community. Riding around in air-conditioned tractors in later years perhaps softened memories of the less enjoyable chores, but Jim often fondly reminisced about busy planting and harvest seasons and delighted in telling stories of tethering himself to the front porch during North Dakota blizzards, making his way to and from the barns in near-zero visibility to care for the horses, cows, and pigs.

Jim attended Gilby and Park River High Schools, graduating from the Walsh County Agricultural and Training School at Park River in 1953, where he played trombone, baseball, basketball, and six-man football. He was also in the Boy Scouts of America, 4-H, and the American Legion. Jim continued his education at North Dakota Agricultural College, now North Dakota State University, where he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho, the Air ROTC, and the Bison baseball team. While a student at NDAC, Jim met and successfully wooed Marjorie A. Harland. An avid softball player herself, Marjorie may have been won over by Jim’s athleticism as a Bison baseball player but was overheard a couple of decades later admitting she also appreciated how he looked in his uniform. They married in Fargo, ND, on November 30, 1956.

After graduating from NDSU in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture, Jim’s sociable, extroverted personality was a good match for his successful career as a salesman for several companies, including York International and Coleman-Evcon. Life as a salesman in the 1960s through 1990s had him, Marjorie, and their two sons moving to multiple states, spending the most time in Washington, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Indiana. Jim’s favorite hobbies over the years included bowling leagues, fishing, playing cards, collecting model tractors, feeding ducklings that imprinted on him and followed him around the yard, watching World War II movies, grill master duties, reading military and espionage thrillers, a complex multi-decade war against squirrels stealing from his bird feeders, and following his beloved NDSU Bison teams. Jim and Marjorie also enjoyed attending numerous family reunions and traveling internationally. Shortly after moving to a scenic lake house in Elkhart, Indiana, Jim decided to retire when he was given a computer for the first time and told he had to learn how to use email. He shipped the computer back and chose instead to focus on becoming a first-rate pontoon captain. After trying and rejecting retired life (and HOA bylaws) in Texas and Arizona, Jim “I should be able to install whatever color and size mailbox I want” and Marjorie Stewart retired to their favorite state—North Dakota. They built a house in West Fargo in 2003 and cherished their time there until Marjorie’s death in 2004.

Jim was soon blessed to meet JoAnn M. Plorin, and he was so dazzled by her kindness, humor, and card skills that they were married on December 3, 2005. Jim and JoAnn loved playing cards and bingo, visiting casinos, socializing with friends, and traveling across the country to visit family. They enjoyed their time together until JoAnn’s passing in 2019. For more than 20 years, Jim was warmly welcomed by the Plorin family: Kelly and David Thiele, Doug and Nenita Plorin, Wayne and Rosemary Plorin, Paige (Blaine) Thompson, Kyle (Eric) Teller, Taylor (Jonah) Plorin, Lauren Plorin, Lyla Plorin, Holt and Ryan Thompson.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers and sisters-in-law, John “Jack” and Dorothy Stewart, Robert “Bob” and Robin Lorraine Stewart, and William “Bill” and Frances Stewart; his son, James Craig Stewart, and his grandson-in-law Mark C. Bellino.

Jim is survived by two granddaughters, Sharon A. Bellino and Laura T. Stewart; two great-grandsons, Andrew C. Bellino and David J. Bellino; and one son, Robert C. Stewart.

Services will be held later this spring at Amundson Funeral Home, Grand Forks, ND, followed by interment in Prairie Home Cemetery, Gilby, ND. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations in memory of Jim go to the Fargo Air Museum.