Stewart, who died in January at the age of 81, was given the El Paso service organization's 2016 Distinguished Service Award.

Stewart is the 36th El Pasoan to receive the group's annual award, which began in 1981, and is a list of El Paso's movers and shakers over the last 3 1/2 decades

"He left such a legacy in our community for good and I believe for his family also," said Marlene Stewart, who accepted the award for her husband at the Thursday luncheon.  "So James (the couple's only child) and I have a lot to live up to, and carry on J.O.'s values, his love for people, his love for God, and this community.

"J.O. was just a loving guy. I was so fortunate. I was very spoiled," she said with her son, James Stewart, 48, an El Paso construction company owner, by her side.

The award presentation made by El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser was preceded by an almost 10-minute video with glowing testimonals by El Paso businessman Woody Hunt, a long-time friend of J.O. Stewart, Ron Acton, who said Stewart was his boss for 20 years and friend for 40 years, and U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., who said Stewart kept him accountable and shared his deep religious beliefs.

Kathrin Berg, president of the Rotary Club of El Paso, and vice president of donor relations at the El Paso Community Foundation, said Stewart always wanted to be called J.O., and known "just as a garbageman."

Stewart moved to El Paso in 1970 to start El Paso Disposal. He started with one garbage truck he drove while his wife worked in the office. He grew it into a company that controlled the El Paso waste-disposal market when he sold the company in 1999 for $100 million in stock and cash to Waste Connections Inc., a huge waste-collection company, now based in Toronto. Stewart stayed with Waste Connections for a time as vice president of its Southwest division.

Stewart was a talented pianist who, along with his wife, helped fund the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, El Paso Pro-Musica, and other arts groups. He and his wife formed a foundation in 2001 to fund University of Texas at El Paso scholarships and other community groups and causes, according to the Rotary Club.

In 2001, he and his wife donated 10 acres for construction of Texas Tech University's Paul L. Foster School of Medicine.

Acton, in the video, said Stewart's business success allowed him to be a giver, and, he said, Stewart gave to his employees, family, and the community.

"He had a compassionate heart" and was always ready to help a friend in need, Acton said. "God placed in J.O.'s heart to be a giver."

Hunt said Stewart helped people in crisis.

"Whether in a hospital or in court, he was there to support and help people get through those kind of situations like no one else I knew," Hunt said.

By: Vic Kolenc , El Paso Times