Stewart Otto Gold, age 67, passed peacefully on Friday, Feb 12, 2021 at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare in Wilmington surrounded by his family after a private and valiant two-year fight against stage IV metastatic melanoma. 

Stewart was born into a Marine Corps family at Parris Island Naval Hospital in Beaufort, SC on December 2,1953, to the late Otto (USMC Veteran), and Maria (Heppensteil) Gold, originally of Germany. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Bonnie (Granitzki)...

Stewart Otto Gold, age 67, passed peacefully on Friday, Feb 12, 2021 at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare in Wilmington surrounded by his family after a private and valiant two-year fight against stage IV metastatic melanoma. 

Stewart was born into a Marine Corps family at Parris Island Naval Hospital in Beaufort, SC on December 2,1953, to the late Otto (USMC Veteran), and Maria (Heppensteil) Gold, originally of Germany. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Bonnie (Granitzki) Gold of Hampstead, NC; daughter, Joanne Gold of Silver Spring, MD, who served in the USAF as a pharmacist; and daughter, Jennifer Gold of Hampstead, NC, who served in the Army National Guard as an intelligence officer. Stewart is also survived by his sister, Ellen Meyer, and nephews: Mike, Chris and Mark of Danville, CA; as well as his brother, Robert Gold, and wife, Susan, and nieces Haley and Heather of Wall, NJ. He also leaves behind numerous family members in Karlstadt Germany, including Aunt Ilse and Uncle Heinz Schrauth and Aunt Hedwig Kuehl.

Stewart was born to be a Marine. Upon graduation in 1971 from Cranford High School in NJ, Stewart enlisted in the Marine Corps in Nov 1972. He returned to his birthplace and graduated from Boot Camp at Parris Island in Mar 1973. In 1974, after basic training and various assignments, Cpl Gold started his Marine Corps career with operations Eagle Pull and Frequent Wind for the evacuations of Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Saigon (South Vietnam).

Serving at various duty stations along with numerous afloat deployments, Stewart moved through the ranks starting from Private in 1972, selected as a Warrant Officer in 1979, and his final promotion to LtCol in 2001 when he reported to MAG-29 to assume duty as the Commanding Officer of MALS-29.

LtCol Gold commenced his final active duty tour in 2007 with VMMT-204 at MAG-26, until his retirement on 30 Aug 2010 after almost 38 years of active duty service. His most cherished assignments were Whidbey Island, WA, Kaneohe Bay, HI, Quantico, VA and Jacksonville, NC.

Upon retirement, Stewart continued to support the Marine Corps as a CH-53 Current Readiness Advisor for MAG-29 as a contractor with General Dynamics then Booz Allen Hamilton for ten years until his passing. 

Stewart was a true patriot; his love of God, Country, Corps and family was demonstrated in his dedication, loyalty and service to others. He never missed an opportunity to talk with the troops, walk the flight line, roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty, or help someone stranded on the side of the road.

He enjoyed skeet shooting, duck hunting, fishing, boating, and tinkering on anything mechanical, as well as riding his rusty bicycle around the New River Air Station, passing the younger Marines. He enjoyed camping and exploring quiet waterways along with relaxing weekends at “LZ GOLD” in Topsail Island, swimming and surfing with his family. 

We will always cherish the remarkable Marine and man he was and who is such a large part of who we are today. Semper Fi.

At this time, the tentative date for a memorial service at the MCAS New River Chapel is Thurs June 24, 2021 followed by military honors at Coastal Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Jacksonville, NC where Stewart’s cremains will be interred in an ammo can. A celebration of Stewart’s life will follow. Please refer back to this website (www.jonesfh.org) for definite plans and COVID restrictions. 

Stewart’s daughters, Joanne and Jennifer, wish to compile memories, stories and photos of their Dad as a Marine and friend. They knew and loved him as Dad, and would love to have the rest of the story. Please email anything you would like to share to: stewartgoldusmc@gmail.com. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Stewart Gold to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society at www.nmcrs.org. 

Special thanks to the amazing and caring doctors, nurses and staff at the UPMC Hillman Cancer in Pittsburgh and especially those at UNC Chapel Hill Oncology Department in NC.