Stuart H. Lollis of Edgartown died peacefully on Dec. 13 of kidney and respiratory failure. He was 78.

Stuart was born on Nov. 2, 1942, the oldest child of Shelton and Ruth Lollis. The son of an army officer, he had an exciting and varied childhood on military bases across the United States and around the world. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1964. Having completed Army ROTC, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and volunteered for service in Vietnam. Upon returning home, Stuart received his MBA from Harvard Business School before beginning a career in marketing. He went on to start a business with his father, helping U.S. manufacturing firms to export their products abroad.

Stuart married Mary Fearey in Edgartown in the summer of 1974. They had two children, Scott and Kristen, and spent many happy years raising them in Bethesda, Md., and New York city, while continuing to enjoy idyllic summers on Martha’s Vineyard. Later in life, Stuart and Mary moved to Edgartown full-time, where Stuart was a real estate agent at Priestley, Smadbeck & Mone. He also served on the Edgartown conservation commission and the board of the Havenside Corporation.

He was a member of the Chappaquiddick Beach Club, where he was instrumental in the formation of the club’s current structure. He served as the club’s president for 12 annual terms. He was also a member of the Edgartown Yacht Club. Among his many interests, Stuart loved sailing his catboat with his family, and was involved for years in the hosting of the Edgartown Catboat Regatta.

Stu will be remembered fondly for his wry sense of humor, his incomparable practical jokes, his wise counsel, and most of all, his eternal love for his friends and family.

He is survived by his wife Mary, children Scott and Kristen, daughter in law Liz Hunt, son in law Brendon Bates, and grandchildren William, Matthew and Julia Lollis and Andrew and Henry Bates. He is also survived by his sister Helen and her husband Dick Hall, his cousin Wickliffe Kirby and his wife Mary, and a large and beloved Fearey family.

A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held on Martha’s Vineyard when conditions allow.

Donations can be made to Camp Jabberwocky, CURE International, or the Chromosome 18 Registry and Research Society.