University at Buffalo School of Management

Behind the Scenes BY TOM STEWART, SON OF JOSEPH T.J. STEWART, BS '48 I read an article in a university publi- cation about my father while he was at the University at Buffalo, where he resumed his education following his service in World War II. The article indicated that portions of my father's lunches were disappearing, and it brought to mind my recollection of his side of the story. It's really pretty simple: My father had the very good fortune to have parents who had done well. He had gone to war, he returned alive and in good health, and he was very grateful for the blessings he had received. From what I can gather, he would take his lunch to the university and leave it in a coatroom. This was a routine affair and common for most of the students. But aer several weeks, portions of his lunch began to disappear. It wasn't hard to miss. Rather than becoming upset, defen- sive or selfish, my father decided to have a little fun with the whole episode. He went back home and asked to have the next day's lunch made a little bigger. And so the second sandwich was placed in the bag, and sure enough, that disap- peared. Over a period of time, the lunches became bigger and bigger. Since my father was very trim and fit at that time, the person preparing the lunches was begin- ning to wonder where all the food was going. All along my father knew, but he never told. He knew that people had returned from the war to find themselves in circumstances not as favorable as his. So the Autumn 2023 Buffalo Business 25 lunches were an act of his quiet benevolence, if you will, in terms of providing for people who he figured probably weren't eating very well. He never viewed it as the, and felt he was just meeting people's needs. The only mystery for him was that he never knew how many people he was helping. As for the admission aerward, he never mentioned it to me, but that is not surprising. Dad always taught us to "look for something good in everyone." He practiced what he preached. For me, this story is a wonderful kind of benchmark, because it defines his life. You can look at what he did for UB in terms of his endowment gi, and for other charities in which he participated. He was very quiet and modest, always behind the scenes, but with a profound impact in terms of putting his thumb on the exact need, at the right time and place. " So the lunches were an act of his quiet benevolence, if you will, in terms of providing for people who he figured probably weren't eating very well. " TOM STEWART, SON OF JOSEPH T.J. STEWART, BS '48 Joseph T.J. Stewart

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