Don Stewart (Bonaire activist)
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1925
Don Stewart | |
|---|---|
 June 30, 2008 | |
| Born | Donal A. Stewart 1925 San Francisco Bay area, California, United States |
| Died | May 30, 2014 (aged 88–89) Bonaire |
| Other names | Captain Don, Donald Stewart |
| Occupations | Scuba diver, conservationist, environmentalist, inventor, writer, hotelier |
| Known for | "The Father of Bonaire", founder of Bonaire Marine Park, environmental activist, brought tourism to Bonaire[1] |
| Partner | Janet Thibault[2] |
| Children | Kevin Gwen[3] |
| Awards |  Order of Orange-Nassau, KnightInternational Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Bonaire's Lifetime Achievement Award |
Captain Don Stewart, (born Donal A. Stewart; 1925 – May 30, 2014), was best known as Captain Don, The Father of Bonaire.[1][4][5] In the early 1950s, he invented and patented an "adapter for screen cloth" which is basically the frame for a screen door.[6] He was also a story teller, an advanced scuba diver, an environmental activist and protector of the coral reefs that fringe the coastline of Bonaire, a small island in the Caribbean Netherlands where Stewart lived most of his life.
Don Stewart was born in the San Francisco Bay area of California.[7] His mother died when he was a young boy, and was raised by his father. He was diagnosed as dyslexic, dropped out of high school and at age 17, joined the United States Navy shortly after the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor.[8] He signed up for medical training while in the Navy. He was later diagnosed with lymphatic cancer and was discharged from the Navy.[2][7]