History & Staff

Chris Stewart President, General Manager and Funeral Director

CHRIS A. STEWART serves as president, general manager and funeral director in charge of Stewart Family Funeral Home. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1983. While at SFA, he was a four year letterman and captain of the football team. In his senior year, he was presented with the Mart Crawford Award in honor for his Loyalty, Dedication, Spirit and Pride. Chris graduated from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service in 2000. Prior to joining his father in developing Stewart Family Funeral Home, he served as general manager of Cathedral in the Pines Cemetery in Tyler for 7 years. He has more than 30 years of helping others in the funeral service industry.
Chris is a member of the Stephen F. Austin State University Alumni and Letterman’s Association. He continues to support the Lumberjacks athletics. He is a member of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, Tyler Better Business Bureau, East Texas Funeral Directors Association (Past Chairman), National Funeral Directors Association and The International Order of the Golden Rule. He also serves on the Board of Meals on Wheels of East Texas. Chris and his wife Carole have been married for 28 years and have a daughter, Samantha, and a son, Peyton. Carole is a former educator and a stay-at-home mom who is a member of the Women’s Symphony League of Tyler. Chris and Carole are active members of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler where Chris is Past Chairman of the Green Acres Baptist Church Foundation and serves as a deacon and Sunday School teacher in the student ministry. Chris enjoys golf, hunting, fishing and spending time with family and friends at the lake.

Joe Hamby Manager Emeritus

Joe has been a licensed Funeral Director for over 35 years. He began working for Stewart Family Funeral Home in April of 2014 and was promoted to Manager on October 1, 2015. He attended Tyler Junior College and graduated from the East Texas Police Academy in Kilgore and was a Criminal Investigator for Smith County. He was also a graduate of Dallas Institute of Funeral Services.
Joe served on the executive committee of the United Way of East Texas and was a proud member of the United States Army and Navy, serving in Vietnam in 1968.
He was married to the late Cheryl Ann Baldwin of Tyler. He has two children: son, Chris Hamby and wife Terri and daughter, Heather Hamby Long and husband Judd. He also has three stepdaughters: April Baldwin Lindskog and husband Thomas, Holli Baldwin Boulware and husband Eric and Carrie Baldwin Beck and husband Michael.

Gerry Moore Assistant Manager

Gerry Moore joined the Stewart Family Funeral Home staff in 2018, bringing 18 years of funeral directing experience. He is an honor graduate of the Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Science in Houston. Gerry and his wife Tess are both veterans of the U.S. Navy and have two lovely daughters, Ashley and Viktoria. In his spare time, he enjoys working with the youth of his church.

Drew Hutson Funeral Director

Drew was born and raised in Tyler and graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 2000. He attended Tyler Junior College where he was a member of the Apache Band. Drew grew up in the funeral business with his dad and began working with him at the age of 18. His dad worked with Johnnie Stewart and now, Drew has the opportunity to work with his son, Chris Stewart. Drew graduated from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service in 2008. He is married to Jennifer Taylor Hutson, a teacher at Owens Elementary. She is also on the Apache Belle Gold Alumni Board and a member of the Junior League of Tyler. They are both members of Green Acres Baptist Church. Drew enjoys spending time with his wife watching the Cowboys play. He also cheers for the Mavericks and Rangers and spends a lot of time outdoors hunting and fishing. Drew's best friend as well as his hunting partner is his Labrador Retriever, Molly.

Tommy W. Stewart Funeral Director

Tommy W. Stewart was born in Tyler and started working in a Tyler funeral home at the age of 13, driving a hearse in funeral processions before having a driver's license. He was first licensed as a Texas Funeral Director-Embalmer in 1971.
He is a graduate of Robert E. Lee High School and Tyler Junior College. He received a B.S. degree from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Master's Degree from Southern Methodist University. Tommy is also a graduate of Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science.
He retired from the banking industry after 41 years and returned to his roots as a funeral director at Stewart. He has been married to his second-grade girlfriend for 50 years and are parents of two grown daughters and 3 grandchildren.
He and Margaret are members of Marvin United Methodist Church, Willow Brook Country Club and have served on numerous boards and committees of many Tyler area civic clubs and organizations.

Jarryd Hall Funeral Director

Jarryd serves as a licensed funeral director at Stewart Family Funeral Home. Jarryd graduated from Amarillo College with his funeral director's license. He also has a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Sul Ross University. He served on the police force for a short time before finding his calling in the funeral business.

Jarryd is married to Oralia Hall. She works for Tyler ISD. They are members of Flint Baptist Church.

Connor Prince Provisional Funeral Director

Francie Fulgham Funeral Planner

Francie Fulgham serves as a State Licensed Funeral Planner at Stewart Family Funeral Home. She was born and raised in the East Texas area. She graduated from Athens High School, attended Henderson County Junior College and graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing and an Associate’s in Business Management. She has always had a passion for helping people and has spent over 20 years in the Insurance and Financial Industry.
Francie and her husband, Libby, live in Chandler. They have four children and are members of Friendly Baptist Church. Francie enjoys spending time with her family, reading, cooking, golfing and traveling.

Vicki Diamont Administrator

Vicki Diamont joined Stewart Family Home in March 2018 as an Assistant Administrator. Vicki was born and raised in the Lubbock area. She moved to Tyler in 1984 and attended Tyler Jr. College. She worked as an Executive Assistant/Operations Coordinator for a Taco Bell Franchisee for 25 years. She enjoys reading and traveling. She also volunteers for the Texas Great Pyrenees Rescue.