BEAUMONT, Texas — Family and friends of a beloved longtime band director at Texas schools are mourning his recent passing.
Gerald Stewart died on Thursday in Houston. He was 84 years old.
Stewart leaves behind one sibling, a brother named Cecil Brent. Brent described his brother as a quiet but well-known musician in Texas, who got his start in music in Silsbee.
“I am going to miss him so very much,” Brent said. “He and I were the only two boys of my mother. Just the two of us.”
Brent said he and Stewart graduated from a Silsbee high school, and their mother was a principal for the Silsbee Independent School District. However, the family lived in Beaumont.
Brent said everyone knew his brother from music. Stewart played with former Lamar University president Dr. Jimmy Simmons on several occasions.
Stewart graduated with a bachelors and master’s in music from Prairie View A&M University. Afterward, he graduated with a master’s degree from the VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois.
Stewart was a part of a band named Starship, and Brent said he was the band's stage and road manager. Starship members that are still alive are Wilford Mayes, Oliver Lacy, A. C. Guillory, Willie Dougas, Lynn Simon and Cecil Brent.
Brent said the band played at the Beaumont City Auditorium with Betty Wright in the 1970s. They also played at the Fair Park Coliseum in Dallas.
Brent said the band was the warm-up band for a great deal of major concerts around the Southeast Texas and Houston areas.
Stewarts love of music went beyond the band. He also taught it to others.
Stewart’s first job was at the Liberty Training Center. After leaving there, he became the band director at the Charlton-Pollard High School.
Brent said his brother and the Charlton-Pollard High School Stage Band toured Europe. He said they were the first Black high school band to play for the Queen in 1975.
After the Charlton-Pollard High School shut down and the Beaumont Charlton-Pollard High School was opened, Stewart became the band director there.
Once he left Beaumont Charlton Pollard, he became the band director at M. B. Smiley High School in Houston. He retired from the Houston school.
The mascot for the M.B. Smiley High School is the eagles. Brent said his brother is now, “soaring to a better place in music.”
Brent said his brother’s former students were shocked to learn of his passing. They told Brent that Stewart was, “gone but not forgotten.” Many will be at the funeral.
Lynn Simon will be in charge the music at the funeral. Simon and Stewart played together for years.
The funeral and viewing are open to public. “The maestro is gone,” will be on Stewart's headstone and program at the funeral.
Funeral services for Stewart will be held on Saturday, April 30 at 10 a.m. at the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church. The church is located on 1175 Isle Street.
A viewing will be held from noon to 5 p.m. on Friday at the Mercy Funeral home. The funeral home is located on 1395 Gladys Street.
