Successful entrepreneur, U.S. Marine, proud father, devoted husband – these were some of the titles Stuart James Johnson earned during his life.

Family, friends and colleagues will fondly remember him in those roles now following his recent passing at age 79. “All who knew and loved Stuart will miss him dearly,” an obituary said.

Stuart James Johnson, CFS Promotions

Johnson built and ran a successful promotional products supplier, Schaumburg, IL-based CFS Promotions (asi/42989). He founded the business in 1978 as Corporate Fulfillment Services Inc. and formally entered the promotional products industry in 1992. Johnson ran CFS in partnership with his wife Sharon, “who was the love of his life,” an obituary stated. Sharon and the CFS team will continue to carry on the family business.

“Stuart had a passion for this industry and wasn’t afraid to reinvent his company as market demands changed over the years,” said Chris Lovell, senior vice president of supplier sales at ASI. “Customer service was vitally important to Stuart, and he set the bar extremely high for all the employees at the company, as he felt it was one of the important elements of differentiation in our competitive industry.”

Mark Bruk of CFS Promotions said Johnson’s passing came as a shock. “Being Stuart’s partner for the last 23 years, he has been my mentor, guiding me and teaching me how to be a great business leader,” Bruk said. “Almost every day I miss being able to use him as a sounding board in dealing with issues that arise in the business.”

Born in Cleveland to Jane Johnson and World War II Navy officer Jim Johnson, Stuart spent part of his childhood in Milwaukee before the family settled in Bryn Mawr, PA, where he graduated from Radnor High School in 1962. In 1964, Johnson continued his family’s tradition of service by joining the Marine Corps Reserve as an infantryman. His son Michael would pick up the military mantle, becoming a Marine Corps F-18 Hornet fighter pilot – a point of great pride to Johnson.

Johnson and his wife made a life in the Chicago region and a home in South Carolina, where they eventually established a permanent residence. “(Stuart) loved welcoming family and friends with a generous heart over great food, wine and stories of travel and other adventures,” an obituary noted.

Johnson was father to Michael and Lisa and grandfather to Maggie, Meghan, Evan, Tyler and Colin. Reads an obituary: “A true Renaissance man, Stuart is survived by a large community of family and friends, as well as his beloved furry children, Carolina and Dutton.”