Obituary: Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, Sandals founder and all-inclusive visionary

Gordon “Butch” Stewart, the founder of Sandals Resorts, which grew from a single property in Montego Bay, Jamaica, to an all-inclusive powerhouse and iconic brand name in the Caribbean, has died. He was 79.

The news was reported by the Jamaica Observer. Stewart was chairman of the Jamaica Observer, as well as founder and chairman of Jamaica-based automotive and appliance distributor ATL Group.

In a company memo, Stewart’s son, Sandals’ deputy chairman Adam Stewart, said the news of his father’s death after a “very recent health diagnosis” was “almost unbelievable.” 

“My Dad lived a big life: husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, entrepreneur, statesman, dreamer,” said Adam Stewart. “A singular personality and an unstoppable force who reveled in defying the odds, exceeding expectations and whose passion for his family was matched only by the people and possibility of the Caribbean, for whom he was a fierce champion.”

Deputy Chairman of Sandals and son of Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, Adam, is expressing sadness at the passing of his father and the company’s chairman.

In an internal memorandum issued to all managers of the Sandals group, Adam Stewart said his father will be missed forever. pic.twitter.com/3N9HdHnczy

— Nationwide90FM (@Nationwideradio) January 5, 2021

Adam Stewart wrote that his father had chosen to keep his health diagnosis private, “and we respected that wish.”

Born in 1941 in Kingston, Jamaica, Stewart founded Sandals Resorts in 1981 with the opening of Sandals Montego Bay. In 1997, the company branched out with the debut of its Beaches offshoot, opening the Beaches Negril.

The Sandals portfolio also includes the Grand Pineapple Beach Resort brand, Fowl Cay Resort in the Bahamas and the Your Jamaican Villas private home collection.

In total, the Sandals Resorts portfolio spans five brands and 24 properties across seven countries including Antigua, The Bahamas, Grenada, Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Turks and Caicos.