Mount Pleasant Magazine 6.3

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however, affected his determination to
help his fellow human beings.
The shipyard, now located on the
old Navy Base property in North
Charleston, was at one time head-
quartered East of the Cooper on the
Wando River. Stewart, who lived in
Snee Farm, was one of the founders
of East Cooper School, which closed
its doors in the early 1990s, and he
also coached and sponsored several
youth baseball teams.
He started his career with Detyens
in 1973, attributing at least part of his
business success to fate.
“You have to be in the right place
at the right time and know the right
people,” he explained. “Or marry the
boss’ daughter.”
Which is exactly what he did.
When he returned to the United
States in 1973 after a four-year stint
in the Navy that included time at a
communications station in Northern
Ireland, he had the opportunity to
go back to work for Milliken & Co.
in Upstate South Carolina. Instead,
with a degree from Furman, where he
met his future wife, Judy, he chose to
accept a job with the shipyard estab-
lished by his father-in-law, William J.
Detyens, in 1962.
“There was no one else in the
company with a college education,”
Stewart said. “But he didn’t know
what to do with me, so I started out
as a helper in the yard. I didn’t know
what was going on.”
Nevertheless, after four months
in the yard, Stewart’s father-in-law
offered him the job of personnel man-
ager, an opportunity he was all too
happy to explore.
“Anything to get out of the grease
and grime,” Stewart explained.
Not long after, Stewart became the
company’s treasurer. And, in 1982,
when Detyens turned 65 and decided
to retire, he sold the shipyard to
Stewart and company President W.R.
“Red” Starke. They borrowed $6.8
million – at a whopping interest rate
of 17 percent – to seal the deal. Seven
years later, on Nov. 13, 1989, Stewart
offered his partner $1.75 million for
his share of the company, plus other
Detyens is the largest commercial
shipyard on the East Coast.
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Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
843.881.3111
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2270 Ashley Crossing Dr., Ste 175,
Charleston SC 29414
843.410.5766
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