Stuart Douglas Dwork

Stuart Douglas Dwork, 71, of Dallas, Texas, died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, September 3, 2026, after a multi-year battle with leukemia. Stuart was born on January 22, 1955, in Columbus, Ohio, the youngest of Ralph and Ethel Dwork’s four children. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Union College in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and, immediately following graduation, attended Capital University Law School, where he received his Juris Doctor. Stuart found his calling at the intersection of technology and law. He began his career in patent law as a patent examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Over the decades that followed, he became a highly accomplished patent attorney and strategist, practicing with several prominent intellectual property and national law firms. In 2005, he became a founding partner of Shore Chan Bragalone DePumpo LLP in Dallas, an accomplishment of which he was particularly proud. In 2012, Stuart established his own consultancy, Jabonte, where he continued his work in patent analysis, reverse engineering, and what he called “IP mining.” The name itself reflected Stuart’s quirky sense of humor: Jabonte stood for “Just Another Bunch of North Texas Engineers.” It was characteristically Stuart—an inside joke hidden in plain sight behind an otherwise perfectly respectable business name. Stuart genuinely loved patent law. He had a remarkable ability to recognize valuable intellectual property that others had overlooked—to find the proverbial “Rembrandts in the attic.” He understood not simply how to obtain a patent, but how to identify what was truly valuable in an invention, develop a strategy around it, and craft patents and patent portfolios capable of creating substantial commercial value. Just as importantly, Stuart shared what he knew. He taught others about patent law and strategy and took particular pleasure in teaching how to craft strong, valuable patents. Over the course of his career, he became a mentor, teacher, trusted colleague, and friend to many lawyers, inventors, and entrepreneurs. His influence lives on not only in the patents he helped create and the successes he helped achieve, but also in the many people who became better at their craft because Stuart took the time to teach them. Stuart was endlessly curious about technology. He built his own computers, followed the latest gadgets, and was always interested in understanding how things worked. That same curiosity extended to another of the great passions of his life: aviation. Stuart was a pilot and the proud owner of a Piper Archer III. He loved flying and loved talking about airplanes nearly as much as he loved talking about patents. Patent law and aviation were not simply a profession and a pastime for Stuart. They were subjects he studied deeply, enjoyed immensely, and delighted in sharing with others. Stuart was predeceased by his parents. He is survived by his three siblings, Larry (Anita), Amy (Robert), and Mona (Lester). He was fortunate, too, to have enduring friendships with people who became an important part of his life. He was especially grateful for his longtime friend Helen Kalmans, whose friendship, care, and support meant a great deal to him, particularly during the last years of his illness, and for his longtime friend Neil Mothew. Stuart deeply loved his nieces and nephews. He kept up with their lives, always asked after them, and delighted in surprising them with packages. Despite all his academic and professional accomplishments, the roles closest to his heart were those within his family: uncle to Randy, Dan, Seth, and Alli, and godfather to Rachel. Stuart will be remembered for his formidable intellect and curiosity, his generosity with his knowledge, his loyalty to the people he cared about, and his unmistakably quirky sense of humor. He could be intensely serious about crafting the right patent strategy one moment and delighted by a clever gadget, an airplane, or an inside joke like the name “Jabonte” the next. To his family and to the many friends, colleagues, lawyers, inventors, and pilots whose lives he touched, he leaves behind wonderful memories and a lasting legacy. Funeral details will be shared by the family in the near future. Those wishing to honor Stuart’s memory may make a donation to Planned Parenthood ( https://www.plannedparenthood.org/ ), League of Women Voters ( https://www.lwv.org/ ), or the Leukemia Research Foundation ( https://leukemiarf.org/ ).

Stuart Douglas Dwork

January 22, 1955 - September 3, 2026