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Robert (Rob) L. Stuart, Ph.D., age 72, passed away with loved ones by his side and went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on August 15, 2020. There was a family graveside service on Thursday, August 20th, in Louisiana.
Rob was born in Bunkie, Louisiana on November 13, 1947. He grew up in St. Landry Parish on his family’s dairy and beef farm where he developed a passion for animal health. While attending Louisiana Tech University, he met and married the love of his life, Anne, in 1969. They were happily married for over 50 years and were blessed with three children. After they married, Rob obtained his B.S. in Animal Science from Louisiana Tech University, Ruston; M.S. in Ruminant Nutrition from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; and Ph.D. in Ruminant Nutrition from University of Kentucky, Lexington. In the 1980’s, Rob served as a senior nutritionist for a large pharmaceutical company, where he created a major technical manual.
After living in three states, Rob and Anne moved their family to the Fort Worth, Texas area, in 1985. Then in 1989, Stuart Products, Inc. was founded by Dr. Stuart with the purpose of developing and marketing animal nutritional supplements based upon sound scientific research. He saw a need in the market and developed quality fat-soluble vitamin products. Dr. Stuart created many pioneering products that included: injectable, liquid, powders, and paste products. These products are currently marketed for various animal applications in beef and dairy cows, swine, poultry, equine, and exotic animals.
The first innovative product that Dr. Stuart created was an injectable fat-soluble source of natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol)- VITAL E®-500. He went on to develop VITAL E®-A+D, VITAL E®-Repro, and VITAL E®-Newborn. These injectable formulations are the first to utilize the non-ester of vitamin E. He went on to develop EMCELLE®TOCOPHEROL, the first liquid natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol) product created to provide non-esterified vitamin E in a micellized formulation. He also created, EMCELLE® E-D3 Liquid and EMCELLE® D3 Liquid. He also developed many other products including the first water-dispersible natural-source vitamin E powder for the animal market and the first paste supplement specifically formulated for piscivores (raw fish-eaters).
Dr. Stuart’s dedication for research and development on new and existing products led to many global studies at various universities, zoological parks, and private facilities and this resulted in international sales of his products. His passion for natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol) was world renowned. He was well respected in his industry and as an animal nutrition expert. He personally presented his research results globally. He authored or co-authored numerous articles and was published in many publications. He was always willing to help others with their papers and research. He loved teaching and educating anyone from customers to veterinarians about the need of fat-soluble vitamins for animals and would spend hours talking on the phone with them.
Stuart Products, Inc. will continue on with family members that have worked with the company since the beginning. They will continue Dr. Stuart’s legacy by providing quality vitamin products for the animal health industry.
Rob was involved with many professional organizations including: American Society of Animal Science, American Dairy Science Association, American Association of Swine Veterinarians, Poultry Science Association, Plains Nutrition Council, and Texas Animal Nutrition Council (where he served as the third president). At the AASV, Rob’s heart for the Lord, led to Stuart Products sponsoring the annual Praise Breakfast.
In his personal life, Rob was actively involved in many different church ministries throughout his lifetime and was a member of First Baptist Euless (now Cross City Church). Rob was an ordained deacon and taught Sunday School. Besides his love of family, he enjoyed hymns, woodworking, gardening, sports, telling jokes, and had a heart for community volunteering. The family requests, in Rob’s memory, contributions may be made to Christian Veterinary Mission (cvm.org).
