by Hannah Hanson
Dr. Bill Stuart would light up any classroom at Longwood University as soon as he walked in the door. If a student, coworker, or friend would approach him for help, whether it be academic or personal, he would do everything in his power to help. Remembered as a loving husband, caring father, incredible professor, and amazing friend, 44 for Bill is a day the community celebrates Bill Stuart’s life with random acts of kindness.
Dr. B, as he was affectionately known, passed away suddenly on September 9, 2012. His wife, Amy Stuart, created 44 for Bill to inspire people to live their lives the way Bill lived his every day, with positivity and ambition.
44 for Bill is active on several different social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. There you can see all the generous acts of kindness people took part in for this year’s 44 for Bill. For this most recent event, Amy asked everyone to leave a comment about the acts of kindness that people did in honor of Bill so her and her children could read through them. The comments included people buying flowers for their office manager, purchasing a gift for someone who was feeling down, and paying for a military family’s entire meal.
Amy posted on the 44 for Bill Facebook page later in the evening saying that thousands of people participated in the 44 for Bill campaign during the fourth anniversary of his death. Each year participation grows and more people get involved for this day.
When talking to Amy, she described her husband as “incredibly intelligent, [a] wicked and quick sense of humor, kind, inquisitive, always learning and trying to be better… You felt like you were important and your opinion mattered when you were with him because he asked you questions, listened to you, remembered your answers and always learned your name. It didn’t matter if you were the CEO or the custodian. He treated you the same and was equally interested in your story. He always wanted to help people do more and be more. As I told Channel 8, he was just a random act of kindness personified.” Clearly, Bill was an amazing man that deserves recognition for the impact he made.
Bill Stuart had a natural zest for life. He was eager to start every day and greet each student with a smile. As someone who developed the Communication Studies program at Longwood University, professors, students, and the community at the university remember Bill for the amazing person he was.
To find out more about Dr. Bill Stuart, visit www.longwood.edu/commstudies/scholarships.
Continue to pay it forward and mark your calendar for next year!