Thomas "Tom" J. Stuart, 72

Thomas “Tom” J. Stuart Jr. of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, passed away peacefully on the evening of Jan. 4, 2023. Tom was born in Superior, Wis., on March 24, 1950, to Thomas J. Stuart Sr. and Gloria Stuart. The family lived in Wisconsin, North Dakota and Montana, later moving to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in 1965, where they lived on S. Silver Beach Loop Road around beautiful Lake Coeur d’Alene.

This was the best move yet for Tom, as this is where he would meet the love of his life, Donna Brueggeman, whose parents ironically also lived on S. Silver Beach Loop Road. They would later marry in 1973 at St. Thomas Church in Coeur d’Alene. This February they would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

From a very young age it was apparent Tom was naturally skilled with electronics. In the first grade, he assembled his first crystal radio kit. His self-education in electronics continued through his younger child years. At age 12, Tom and a friend formed “Rapid Radio Repair.” They would pull their red radio flyer wagon around the neighborhood, collecting broken electronic items, repairing them at home and then returning them to the neighborhood owners. At age 14, a TV repair shop owner noticed Tom’s incredible skills and asked him to come work for him. Since Tom was not of age to drive, the owner would drive him to all the service calls.

At the age of 16, Tom started flying lessons with Harold Rhodes, as well as Gladys Buroker in Coeur d’Alene, achieving dream he'd harbored since he was a young child.

During his time at Cd’A High School, he was a school photographer for sports and special events. And, yep, Tom formed another entrepreneurship with a friend: They started “S&S Photography.” This included him now photographing wedding events as well.

In his senior year, Tom was busy specializing his electronic skills. He constructed and sold his very first security system out of his parents’ garage. This business he named “Stuart’s Engineering,” proudly making silk-screened window stickers for his customers, including displaying them on his parents’ garage!

After graduating high school, Tom enlisted with the Army National Guard, serving in the 116th Engineer Battalion. They, too, quickly noticed Tom’s extensive knowledge of electronics, and soon asked him to be an instructor and train others. Tom received his Honorable Discharge in 1975.

Tom was always venturing into new ideas, even while serving in the Army National Guard, and operating Stuart Engineering.

From 1965-69 he worked as an Assistant Station Engineer and disc jockey for KVNI Radio Station. He was known as “The Golden Voice of Cd’A.” He enjoyed telling others about how he would play the song “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” by Iron Butterfly if he needed a restroom break, since that was such a long song!

In 1974, Tom and his wife, Donna, moved into a home on 4th Street in Coeur d’ Alene. With his security business growing, Tom chose to add 24-hour monitoring for his clients, and operated this out of the back portion of the home. The business had been re-named “Stuart’s Security Systems.” He got an idea as well to offer a 24-hour answering service, so “Security Answering Service” was born!

During this time a storefront was built onto the front of their home, and Tom decided to add a Radio Shack franchise. This was the very first Radio Shack in Coeur d’Alene. Tom and his wife operated this for many years.

Tom’s security business was taking off in huge leaps and bounds. He constructed a two-story building on the same property, and hired multiple employees. Tom worked very long days, sometimes even until the early morning hours, to ensure his business was successful.

Tom also earned his Hot Air Balloon license during these years, and purchased Gladys Buroker’s red/white/and blue flag balloon. Later, he would purchase a new bright red balloon with his security burglar icon on it, his son naming it “Red Alert.” He flew locally, as well as flying in many Hot Air Balloon rallies throughout the Pacific Northwest that his family would attend with him.

In his retirement years, Tom was building his own Kitfox airplane at his property in Carlin Bay. He loved showing it off and telling people all about it. However, Tom, was not just about electronics and airplanes. He had a passion for collecting Pez candy dispensers, and M&M figurines, too!

Tom unfortunately had health issues for most of his life, believing that this started with multiple back fractures from a skydiving accident while in the National Guard. However, Tom being Tom, as the years went on, he couldn’t stand to sit still and would continue to work on small projects all through his retirement years.

Tom is preceded in death by his father, Thomas J. Stuart Sr. He is survived by his mother, Gloria Stuart; loving wife, Donna Stuart; daughter, Janet (Jeff) Toups; son, Ken (Jenny) Stuart; sister, Janene Wuest; brother, Donald (Jami) Stuart; grandson, Kyler (Alexandria) Monaghan; grandson, Jacob Stuart; as well as two great grandchildren. Also, leaving behind his much-loved dog, Piper.

The family will be holding a small private service at a later date.

Tom’s family is asking if you would please leave a memory or kind word about their Son/Brother/Dad/Grandpa” on his online memorial and sign his guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.