Despite not living in what is today “Federal Way proper,” Tom Stewart loves Federal Way, considers himself a Federal Way native, and as a child, he lived in what used to be considered Federal Way in a home off Five Mile Lake.

Stewart was born in Tacoma General Hospital on July 9, 1953, and in 1958, his family moved into a home off Five Mile Lake, where he lives now. Despite moving out of the Federal Way area after high school, Stewart returned to the Federal Way area for good after almost 50 years in 2019.

Stewart is now the treasurer and a board member of the Historical Society of Federal Way. Alongside that work, he volunteers at the Federal Way Senior Center Food Bank. Stewart said he is also in the process of creating an education foundation for Federal Way Public Schools students and is seeking individuals who would like to contribute to its formation.

Stewart said that people like himself, who have benefited from growing up in Federal Way and attending Federal Way Public Schools, should help out where they can. His whole K-12 education was spent at Federal Way Public Schools. He attended Lakeland Elementary, Lakota Junior High and Thomas Jefferson High School.

Growing up, he would spend his summers outside, hiking, riding bikes and swimming in Federal Way. In the winter, Stewart said he read nonstop, which is what later inspired his decision to study English.

High school was mostly normal, spending time with friends he’d known since he was 6 years old from Steel Lake Presbyterian Church. However, Stewart said one interesting thing was that he was gay at a time when being openly gay was not common. Stewart said he wasn’t fully open about being gay, but it was no secret.

He said no one in high school ever bothered him about his being gay, but he kept his head down in a lot of ways. It wasn’t until the late ‘70s and early ‘80s that people were more open about being gay.

Following his high school graduation in 1971, he studied English literature and composition at the University of Washington and graduated in 1976. Stewart said that after completing his undergraduate studies, he began working at the Pierce County Assessor’s Office.

He also worked on passing state legislation that he is very proud of. Stewart said that he assisted in drafting legislation sponsored by a legislator named Reuben Knoblauch, which became the first senior citizen property tax exemption. The second piece of legislation he helped draft was intended to protect Class 1 and Class 2 agricultural land, but it failed. Stewart said the third piece of legislation he helped draft that stuck was legislation that made driving barefoot legal.

He then decided to attend graduate school after a coworker at the assessor’s office suggested he try living somewhere new. So, he enrolled at DePaul University in Chicago, where he studied English literature and composition. He said in Chicago, he learned about many different cultures and gained a love for Greek food and art.

In 1981, he earned his master’s degree, returned to Washington for a short time because his dad’s health was not doing well and then moved to the Bay Area when his father died. Stewart said that in California, he began to work in public relations and started his own firm. He focused on sustainability efforts and was very involved in the community through that work.

It was in 1989 in California that he met his husband through the phone lines, which was how some people dated back then. Stewart said that, of all the things in his life, his relationship with his husband, Michael, is the most important thing.

Stewart said that Michael has supported him through his metastatic cancer diagnosis, which he received in 2010, when he started his doctoral degree in public relations, which he later completed. Stewart said his cancer is still something he deals with to this day, but he is an optimist and will take his brother’s take on life of “live forever or die trying.”

In 2019, he and his husband moved to Federal Way because they were thinking about where they wanted to leave a legacy. Stewart said that he joined the Historical Society of Federal Way in 2019, left for a short time in 2023, but returned shortly thereafter in 2024. Stewart said that tracking history allows people to see what was happening during a certain time in Federal Way.

“I said, telling the story of Federal Way gives an opportunity for people to integrate into Federal Way, to become part of our history, part of that fabric, that quilt that is Federal Way, in all its uniqueness and diversity,” Stewart said.

Regarding his favorite thing about the Federal Way area, Stewart said it’s Five Mile Lake, but he also really enjoys Dash Point State Park. He said his favorite restaurant is New Peking Wok.

“Get involved. Volunteer. It doesn’t matter where, but put yourself aside for five minutes and think about what can I do to make the community a little bit better, too,” Stewart said. “And I’m sincere. I mean, it sounds very trite and all that. It’s not. I think that we are all responsible for the quality of life in the community in which we live. If we only look at our own aggrandizement, we’re missing out on the purpose of being alive.”