Obituary of Davis Stuart DeBard

He was special and fun to be with. He could juggle oranges and ride a unicycle, and he told wonderful stories. Davis Stuart DeBard, "Stuart", age 95, of Hingham, passed away on Oct 9, 2010. Born in Brockton on May 13, 1915, the son of Davis Mead DeBard and Eleanor Frances Pratt, he grew up in West Newton, MA. He graduated from Harvard College in 1936 and from Harvard Law School in 1939. Katharine DeCazenove Douglas, "Kaki", from Philadelphia, PA and he married in 1939. Among many other things, they were fantastic dancers. During WWII, Stuart served as commanding officer aboard a Destroyer Escort seeing duty in the Caribbean and Pacific from 1942 to 1946. After the war he moved to Hingham where he became very active in many community activities, including being a founding member of the Crow Point Improvement Assoc., the Conservation Commission, the Massachusetts Association of Town Finances, Planning and Zoning Boards and the World Affairs Council of Boston. He was also involved with the International Visitors Assoc. Stuart worked as an attorney at 84 State Street, Boston with the firm of Weston, Patrick, & Stevens. A passionate lover of history, he never missed an opportunity to march with the Hingham Militia, carrying his musket and dressed as Minute Man in the Continental Army during the Memorial Day and 4th of July parades. An old salt from way back, Stuart loved sailing. He took his last sail in his own boat last summer at age 95. He was an avid skier and a world traveler and a lover of good parties. His wife Kaki died in 1993. He married Margaret DeTar Baumgartner the same year. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, his children, Ellen DeBard Adle and her husband Parviz of Duxbury, Nancy DeBard Pratt and her husband A. Kingman of Fryeburg, ME, and Davis Mead DeBard and his wife Janice of Crestline, CA, and his step-children Margaret DeTar LaVallee and her husband Tim of Smithfield, VA, John Baumgartner and his wife Pam of Castleton, VT, Ted Clarke of Portland, OR, and Betsy Baumgartner of Weymouth, and his eight grandchildren. Despite all his academic qualities, Stuart was quite down to earth. He gave of his time and law expertise freely, helping many organizations and individuals. And when not doing all of the above, he painted. Mostly watercolors but sometimes scenery for yacht club dances or Gilbert & Sullivan productions. A stalwart member of his church, Stuart would rush to ring the bell every Sunday. A Memorial Service will be held in his honour on Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 11:00AM at the Old Ship Church in Hingham...surely he will be listening for those bells that he loved so much.