William "Pete" Stewart

A visitation and gathering for William "Pete" Stewart of Joshua, will be held from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Crosier-Pearson Cleburne Funeral Home, located at 512 N Ridgeway Dr, Cleburne, TX 76033 on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, where family and friends have the opportunity to gather for fellowship, pay respects and share memories with one another.

A loving husband, father, and grandfather, William “Pete” Stewart, age 85, ran into the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, on May 11, 2025, in Joshua, Texas.

Pete, as he was known, was born in Baptist, Louisiana on July 30, 1939, to Ellen Stewart, and was raised in the busy household of his mother’s parents, Eldridge and Lyle Victora Starkey Stewart. His grandparents were farmers, and their tiny house was always full to the brim with his mother’s ten siblings, so it is understandable that he was comfortable surrounded by people.

Pete was one of the most unique people you could ever meet. If you met him once, you were not likely to forget him. It is impossible to describe Pete in one word, and any attempt to do so would be unfair. He was so many things to so many people. Those who knew and loved him, loved him for reasons that were special and unique to them.

“He was Pete”, said all there needed to be said to describe who this man was. Plain and simple, true to who he was, “Pete”.

Living out Mark 12:30-31, this unique man had a great love for people of all ages and from all walks of life. He never met a stranger, had a great sense of humor. Fun chaos often followed him wherever he went, most of which he instigated.

Pete had a heart as big as Texas and always wanted to help those in need. It goes without saying that he was not one to stand for disrespect of anyone, or any animal. He was loyal and protective of those he loved.The stories about Pete’s loyalty and protectiveness are legendary!

Pete was not known for his perfect segways, but it was in his imperfect segways that his intuition, wisdom, and intelligence were seen. The often-imperfect segways were followed by such profound wisdom that it changed the lives of others. This was yet another facet of Pete that endeared him too so many.

Pete loved life.

Pete met the love of life, Marilyn Louise Barnard, in 1966. When Pete’s close friend met Marilyn, she instantly knew that the two were destined to be together. Pete’s side of the story of their courtship was that he wanted no part of the setup, so he did not stick around on the day he was to meet Marilyn. When he returned home, he was told of the sweet beautiful young woman who was brought over to meet him, and this piqued his interest. Pete sought another chance to meet Marilyn, his friend obliged, and Marilyn agreed. When Marilyn recounted her side of the story, it was anything but love at first sight, but it was far too late - Pete was smitten! For nearly forty years, Pete proudly boasted that within five minutes of meeting Marilyn, he asked her to marry him. He was relentless in his pursuit and to dissuade his antics, Marilyn would wear mismatched clothes, overdone make-up, and would purposely wear her hair in unattractive styles. Everyone who knew Pete knew that he was no quitter, and worse yet, he was stubborn! It did not take long for Pete to wear Marilyn down, they married; and raised five children together during their forty-year marriage.

Pete was training horses in DeRidder, Louisiana, but the arrival of the young couple’s fifth child caused Pete to hang up his spurs. He returned to the oilfield and moved his family to Malta. In the years that followed, Marilyn and the kids followed Pete to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Despite the friendships made and the fun that was had, Pete and Marilyn returned to the States in January 1976. Marilyn made a home for Pete and their children in Burleson, Texas and the extended family was close by providing the opportunity to make cherished memories. For the next nine years, Pete continued to travel overseas to Saudi Arabia, Tripoli, and Africa to work on land rigs and then traveled to Norway to work on rigs in the North Sea. He worked for oil giants including Aramco, Poole International, Phillips 66, Gulf Oil, and Chevron while Together, Pete and Marilyn created a loving home for their children and all who entered felt welcomed and loved.

The return to the States meant that Pete had to honor his promise to his middle daughter who had given up a beloved horse when the family moved overseas. He surprised his two daughters with horses though his youngest would later claim she never asked for a pony and never had a desire to have one until Pete brought one home for her. It was not long before Pete’s baby boy found his horse too. With the addition of the horses, Pete dusted off his spurs and was thrust back into the horse world. Pete’s love of training horses returned, and eventually he and his youngest son started Colonial Parkway Training Stables where they broke, trained, and showed horses (and a couple of mules and a buffalo). The passion with horses invariably turned into high school rodeos on the weekends, and more “family”. That new and extended family included teenaged friends that grew into solid adult members: David, Chris, Jeff, Diana, and Ron.

It was once said of their home that, in the summer months, if you entered the home and were not stepping over teenage bodies, you were in the wrong house. While Marilyn, a natural caregiver and young at heart, showed her love to all who entered by taking care of them and instigating practical jokes, Pete showed his love by putting the teenagers to work. As teenagers and into adulthood, the Stewart kids pondered why their friends continued to come over when they knew that Pete would only put them to work-- and Pete was demanding. Over 40 years later, the answer to the much-pondered question as to why the friends always returned seems to finally be answered. Like the Stewart children, they too knew they were loved by both Pete and Marilyn.

In 1985 Pete was transferred to Houston, Texas and Marilyn and the two youngest followed. They lived in Katy, Texas for a time, but later relocated to north Houston.

During Pete’s nearly 30-year career in the oilfield, he worked his way up from deckhand to company man. Pete seemed to have a knack for sorting out issues on troubled rigs and when sent to a troubled rig, it never took long for him to sort out any issues. When Pete returned home, he recounted his experiences to Marilyn and the kids. The retelling of these stories throughout the years were enjoyed the last time just as much as the first time. Marilyn, always proud of Pete, taught the kids to be just as proud of him.

After Pete left the oilfield, he fell into training dogs. It did not take long for Pete to achieve success, and he became a very well-known dog obedience trainer. In the early 90s, Pete was asked to train Fetch Monster, the much-beloved mascot for the Houston Oilers. Pete trained Fetch Monster to run onto the field after each kick-off to retrieve the football tee! Though he never claimed to be a football fan, he and Fetch Monster sure enjoyed the excitement of the sideline and getting to know the Derrik Dolls. It is unknown whether Pete and Fetch Monster ever met a Houston Oiler during their time on the sideline.

With his vast expertise in dog handling, Pete was able to help thousands of people from all walks of life with their dogs. After training their dogs to be better family members, Pete developed lasting friendships with all those he helped and was an active obedience trainer until his retirement at 82 years of age! When his clients came by to pick up their completely transformed dogs, Pete always asked if they could come in and sit awhile. One frequent customer set aside at least two hours for “picking up” her dogs because to sit at Pete’s feet and hear his hilarious stories, discuss Biblical topics and get his sage advice on life issues was impossible to rush away from. He was the hands and feet of Jesus for so many who adored him.

In 2017 Pete became an ordained minister by his church. He became a popular Christian speaker who was asked to give his personal testimony to many churches all over the South. He had a wonderful way of relating to people by demonstrating how his talented dogs’ faithfulness, love and loyalty to him was just a fraction of the love, faithfulness and unimaginable sacrifice given freely to us by our Savior, Jesus Christ. Pete always taught that the relationship between dog and master was much like our relationship with Jesus. For Pete, it was really very simple to answer life’s greatest question. He said, “If you keep your eyes on the Master, everything will be all right.”

Pete was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Marilyn Stewart, his eldest son, William Stewart II, and his middle daughter, Kelly Tosh, his mother, Ellen Stewart, step-father, Willie Watts, his aunt Olivia Hutchinson, his uncles, Dewitt Stewart and Lawrence Stewart, brothers Louis Watts, Alfred Kropog Jr., and Jewell Watts also preceded him in death.

Left to cherish their memories of Pete are his children: Susan Longshore, Melvin Stewart and Angela; Tracy Ellen Dennie and Ron; grandchildren: Stephanie Kehr and husband, Joshua Longshore, William Stewart III, Shay Street and Justin, Shawn Payne, Courtney Parrish, and Erin Elizabeth Engelhardt; great-grandchildren: Preston Conn, Avery Conn, Tyler Payne, Lilly Payne, Jayden Street, Micah Street, and Hannah Kate Street; siblings: Johnny Kropog, Kelly Watts, and Roxane Mock; uncles and aunts: Eddie ‘Push’ Stewart and wife Janice Stewart, Wilmer ‘Spunk’ Stewart, Christine Stewart Herring, Oscar King Stewart, Cowgirl II, Pete’s faithful friend and companion, and a long list of cherished friends.

The family wishes to extend their profound gratitude to Ridgeview Village in Cleburne, Texas for their compassion, care, commitment, prayers, and the unyielding willingness to fight alongside him, and for always erring on the side of caution. While caring for our beloved Pete, you unknowingly afforded those who love him comfort and peace because we knew he was in your loving care.