Ralph Stewart Scannell
1947 – 2022
Ralph Stewart “Stew” Scannell, age 74, passed away peacefully, the morning of Friday, February 4th, 2022, surrounded by his loving wife and loyal dogs.
Stew was born in New Hampshire in 1947, to his wonderful parents Dorothy and Ralph. Along with his younger sister, Nancy, they lived in a house overlooking the beach in the Hamptons. He became class president of Winnicunnet High School and, after graduation, enlisted in the US Army to become a helicopter pilot. It was during this time that Stew grew his world-famous mustache for which he is known for and kept growing it strong for the remainder of his life apart from one small mishap with trimmers in the 90s, after which he promptly grew it back in full the following day. While serving two tours in the Vietnam War, and surviving his helicopter being shot down on three separate occasions, Stew earned two Bronze Star Medals, The Air Medal for Heroism, and The Air Medal for Achievement for his heroic deeds. Following his career with the Army, Stew took a job with Bell Helicopter, where he was sent to Iran in order to train their military to become helicopter pilots. He stayed in Iran until having to flee the country during the overthrowing of the Shah. Soon after, Stew moved to Venice Beach, California, where he started working for Hughes Helicopters as a test pilot on the AH-64A Apache Attack Helicopter. Hughes moved its headquarters to Mesa, Arizona, which is where Stew met his wife Mary and his stepson Matthew. As a family they relocated back to the California desert, where Stew started a new journey working for Northrop Grumman as a flight test manager on the B-2 Stealth Bomber. In 1999, Stew accepted a position as the Site Manager for the B-2 Sustainment facility on Tinker Air Force Base, until he retired in 2014. During his twenty-five-year career with Northrop Grumman, Stew acquired many achievements and recognitions, such as The David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award.
When Stew wasn’t hard at work, he was out working hard on his golf swing and once got a hole-in-one. He also loved to spend time on the ocean sailing. He had a heart of gold and was a sucker for any stray dog or cat that needed a home. Being a traveler by trade, Stew also enjoyed traveling the world with his wife Mary. His favorite place was Kawaii, where they were married on the beach. After retirement, he enjoyed bowling in a senior league, where he frequently averaged games over 200.
Stewart is survived by his wife of 38 years, Mary, his son Matthew and Matthew’s wife, Nicole, their two children, Freyja and Rörik, and his sister and brother-in-law, Nancy and Larry Hamer.
His family invites you to celebrate Stew’s amazing life with us at 11am, Monday, February 14th, at St. Eugene Catholic Church located at 2400 W Hefner Rd, The Village, OK 73120.