last revised 04/08/2001

So who is this Stewart-Cole guy???

Many people who made my acquaintance between 1987 and 1998 only know me or mostly know me as Bill Stewart-Cole. The bare facts are simple, and are below. A more personal explanation is also online.

I was Bill Cole for a long time...

Actually, my birth certificate says "William Kendall Cole" but it's always been Bill since my 5th grade teacher convinced me that Billy was a name for a little boy.

then I got married and changed my name...

My first wife's name was Sandra Stewart. That's her name now too. From 1987 through late 1999 legally we both used the surname Stewart-Cole. That's our daughter's surname to this day. I believe that she is the only person in the world using it.

but I got divorced, so I changed it back.

I returned to using my birth name informally (mainly online) in mid-1998 when the eventuality of my divorce became apparent, and with the final decree of 10/29/99, I got it back legally as well. I've got most of the paperwork worked out with every last official and semi-official entity, but I still run into people who only know the old hyphenated name. And of course some people who only worked with me professionally before 1998 are likely to only know the old name.