About Funeral Director Lydia Stewart  -  When Ms. Stewart's father passed away in 1997, she took over the family business adhering to his standard of excellence.  Ms. Stewart is very passionate about what she does. She loves being able to help people at their time of need.  Ms. Stewart  believes  “If you love what you do you will succeed".   Stewart’s Rose Manor has been very successful in reaching out to customers of every culture. “The key is to understand the subtle differences in practices and preferences.”  

Ms. Stewart is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. She has performed graduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles and also at the University of San Francisco Law School. She has taught English to middle  and high school students for both West Contra Costa and Los Angeles Unified School Districts.  Also being schooled in the Performing Arts, she has taught Drama and Dance at the East Bay Center for Performing Arts in Richmond, California.

Some of Ms. Stewart's Honors and Awards are as follows:

• 2001 "Woman of the Year" by the Business and Professional Woman's Federation
• 2002 "Young Funeral Director of the Year" by the California Funeral Directors Association
• 2003 Honored for her contribution to African American Entrepreneurship by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• 2003 Honored by the Phylaxis Society for Bucks/Business in the four B's Award Program
• 2003 Honored as a "Woman of Distinction" by Soroptimist International
• 2010 Honored by the Beta Pi Sigma Sorority as a "Woman of Valor" and recognized by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and City of Richmond
• 2010 Awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for contributions to the community from Elisabeth Missionary Baptist Church at their "History Making Program"
• 2010 Honored and recognized by the California Funeral Directors Association for significant contributions to the funeral industry

Ms. Stewart served on the Board of Directors for the California Funeral Directors Association.   She is also a member of the Eastern Star Ashlar Chapter #47.  Her motto is, "Keep God the main focus in life and everything else will fall into place".