Billy Wayne Stewart

 

Billy Wayne Stewart left us to be with our Lord on May 1, 2016 after a courageous 7+ year battle with ameyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), widely known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Billy Wayne was born to Carter “Billy” Stewart and Ann Cawthon Stewart of Forney on May 25, 1961. He grew up in Forney and graduated high school there in the class of 1979. After high school he began working for David Yandell Mechanical where he showed a remarkable aptitude for the air conditioning and electrical businesses. In 1982, Billy Wayne met and married Benita Marusak of Kaufman and in 1988 they were blessed with the birth of their son, Jeremy. In 1994 Billy Wayne set out to establish his mark in the air conditioning business when he started his own company; Universal Controls, which has evolved and changed names over the years; but remains a thriving and vibrant enterprise to this day. Working with his companies was his pride and joy; and though a successful businessman, Billy considered his greatest success the idea that in whatever he did and wherever he went; he never met a stranger. An energetic, free-spirited man, Billy loved to hunt and fish as well as work on his ranch in Kaufman. No stranger to an occasional game of chance, Billy Wayne led a vibrant and fulfilling life and left an indelible imprint on all whom he touched in his almost-55 years. We celebrate the life of Billy Wayne Stewart: a son, husband, father, brother, and friend. We celebrate because we know that he loved the Lord Jesus; evidenced by his accepting Jesus as his Savior when he was 10 years old; being baptized at the First Baptist Church of Forney where he remained a lifetime member of the congregation. Billy was preceded in death by his father and is survived by his son, Jeremy Stewart and wife Lauren of Forney; his mother, Ann Stewart and Donnie Slate of Forney; brothers Cecil Stewart of Forney and Michael Stewart and wife JoEllen of Colorado Springs, CO; the mother of his son, Benita Marusak; and his former spouse, Tonjah Banister. If you desire, a donation may be made in Billy Wayne’s honor to: The ALS Living Fund: 7454 Fossil Ridge Drive Frisco, TX 75034 Or online at https:// thealslivingfund. giv.sh/0189