Obituary for Stuart Lee Britton

Stuart Lee Britton (64), of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away peacefully on Monday, February 26, 2024, in his home.  He was born to Samuel Bernard Britton and Nancy Moore Britton, in White Plains, New York; he was their only son and the second of their four children. The family moved around the country with his father’s work until they settled in Batesville, Arkansas, in 1973; there Stuart met the love of his life, Shana Cudd. He was in the marching band, played on the high school golf team, and graduated from Batesville High School in 1977. Stuart earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.  He and Shana married in 1981, and the couple moved to Washington, D.C, where Stuart earned a masters in Russian Area Studies from Georgetown University.  The couple then moved to Davis, California, where Stuart completed doctoral studies in International Relations at the University of California, Davis. Their first son, Thomas, was born in 1987. The family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1991 and were joined by their second son, Daniel, in 1995. 

For most of his career, Stuart was a self-employed translator and editor, who specialized in the unique genre of Russian titles, consisting primarily of memoirs by Red Army veterans and historical research concerning the Eastern Front of World War II and Soviet operations in the Korean War. He was responsible for making a significant number of Russian titles available to readers of the English language, translating and/or editing more than 25 books. Stuart’s work has been cited in numerous scholarly and popular books and consulted by wargame designers. It is used (and will continue to be used) by the U.S. Marine Corps’ Basic School, as well as British Army training in the Baltic States - with cited relevance to NATO and the war in Ukraine. Stuart’s talent extended beyond the ability to translate the Russian language. His understanding of the Russians as a people/culture, and ability to maintain individual Russian voices are reasons his work is successful, well-received, and relevant.

Stuart was actively involved in his sons’ lives, coaching soccer and chess, and supporting them in other sports, music, and academic endeavors: Boy Scouts, RC flying, fencing, bowling, Tae Kwon Do, tennis, and more. Their desire to sample a wide range of experiences is a result of the example Stuart set. Stuart’s interests were broad - chess, cooking, canoeing, fishing, astronomy, gaming, archaeology, scotch - almost any subject interested him. For him, cooking wasn’t just cooking, it was about a region, the peoples, the foods, the methods. Fishing wasn’t just bait on a hook, it was habitats, species, conditions. He was always watching programs and/or reading (yes, often at the same time) to feed his curiosity. Stuart was brilliant yet down to earth, and could talk easily with anyone.

Stuart was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Shana Kay (Cudd) Britton; two sons, Thomas Jackson Britton (Meghan) and Daniel Hill Britton (Leah); two grandchildren, Declan Lee Britton and Lucy Noel Britton; three sisters: Pamela Grace Reese (Joe), Melissa Jane Britton, and Cindy Britton Barber (Lannie); and a host of other relatives, loved ones, and friends.

There will be a private family memorial service at a later date.

The family requests that memorials be directed to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis research at www.als.org/donate  (Recipient's email: blueopal50@yahoo.com)