Thomas Stewart died just the way many of us would choose to go — instantly, in the company of the woman he loved, and on the golf course, immediately after making par.

The great American bass-baritone, who had turned 78 last month, was on the links near his home in Rockville late Sunday afternoon. “He had had heart surgery earlier this year and had not been feeling well for some time, but he was getting along, still active, cheerful and doing things,” soprano Evelyn Lear, Stewart’s wife of more than half a century, said yesterday. “We went out to the course, played for a while, he made par, and then suddenly turned around and fell backwards. I tried to resuscitate him, but he didn’t respond.”

Stewart was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead from a massive heart attack.

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