Lance Eugene Stewart

Lance was born on August 6, 1944 in Beaumont, TX. At birth he was given to his maternal grandmother and her husband, Carrie Lou and Simpson Henry Stewart. He was raised as their own. The family moved to Payson, AZ in 1959 where he entered High School and graduated with the class of 1963 as Class President. Lance wanted to be a pilot. His first fixed wing flight lesson was with his future father-in-law, Art Goodnow. After working on forest fires as a fire fighter, he joined the US Army and went to basic training and eventually to helicopter training. He went to Vietnam as a helicopter pilot and returned in January 1969 after a year and a half. Lance & Sara Goodnow reconnected, courted, and married on the day the astronauts first landed on the moon: July 20, 1969. They have four children: Jason, Katherine, Christina, Robert, and son-in-law Seth Randall. Christina and Seth have three beautiful children. (And, of course, Jason and Robert are in the aviation industry.) He obtained a BA in Education and taught high school shop classes for two years before his desires for flight pulled him back into the industry. He flew helicopters for 42 years before he began to succumb to Agent Orange maladies: heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes. He flew for EMS operators, forest fire contracts, went to Nigeria to fly food to those in the bush after their civil war, and served with the Arizona Army National Guard RAID detachment performing drug interdiction missions. Lance was a loving husband and father. He and Sara were married 51 years. He was friendly, kind, thoughtful and sincere. Lance and his family are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He passed away on March 19, 2021. The family sincerely and gratefully thanks all who have reached out to them in this time of grief. The family will be having a private graveside service. Events Details are pending.