Obituary: Mr Philip Stewart

philip stewart profile

The Master is saddened to announce the passing of Emeritus Fellow Philip Stewart, who died in November 2022. Philip Stewart was a husband, father and exceptional teacher who lived on Boars Hill (just outside Oxford) and inspired generations of Oxford students, at the intersection of ecology and human sciences. 

Philip became a Fellow of St Cross College after joining the University as a Lecturer in 1975. He remained at Oxford until retirement in 2007, during which time he taught economics to students of Agriculture and Forestry. 

Born in 1939 in the then St Pancras borough of London, Philip studied Arabic at St Antony’s College, Oxford, where he graduated with a first-class honours degree. He later studied for a PhD on the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Naguib Mahfouz, then went on to translate Mahfouz’s novel Awlad Harentna, ‘Children of our Alley’ which was published as Children of Gebelawi. Philip then studied for a second BA at Oxford in Forestry and was awarded another First. 

Philip served as Director of Studies for Human Sciences at St Anne’s College and continued teaching human ecology for Human Sciences for many years after his retirement. He was a kind and gentle man who cared greatly about his students’ welfare, supporting them during their time at Oxford and beyond.  

An extended obituary of Philip's life can be read on the Oxford Mail's website.

Philip made a huge impact on the lives of those who knew him and he will be sorely missed. He was also a great family man, and the Master and all College members send their condolences to Philip’s wife Lucile, his children and grandchildren. 

Mr Philip Stewart 

January 1939 – November 2022