Paul Overton Stewart

Paul O. Stewart, age 58, passed away unexpectedly Saturday, February 13, 2016. Paul was born May 26, 1957 in Florence, AL to the late Henry Lee Stewart and Polly Ann Brock Stewart. He was preceded in death by his oldest brother John Arthur “Mitch” Brock of Detroit MI. He was a graduate of Coffee High School in Florence, AL and earned his B.B.A. Degree in Accounting from Tennessee State University. He worked for the State of Tennessee for 34 years in several departments. He was last employed with the Department of Labor & Workforce Development and served as the Director of Monitoring Services.

Growing up in Florence, AL, Paul was a member of St Paul A.M.E. Church. Later in life he was baptized into Christ at the Schrader Lane Church of Christ and later attended the Church of Christ at Jackson Street.

Paul was a loving, comical, very inquisitive person. He was an excellent cook, a craft he learned from his father who was a chef. He loved creating dishes for his family to sample and loved watching cooking shows. He especially enjoyed spending time with family during vacations and holidays and insisted on being the photographer. One of his favorite “shots” to capture, was to have his subjects display the year by holding up their hands. He had a knack for striking up conversations with people about any subject, and he knew wearing his Alabama cap was sure to draw up a conversation or two.

He had a love for dogs, especially German Shepherds and Belgium Malinois, and enjoyed the Schutzhund training sport, which gave him a connection with those in K9 Units. He was an aquarist at one time having owned several fresh water home aquariums. He had a special fondness to African Cichlids. Paul enjoyed playing chess and taught his daughter Rachel to play. He enjoyed going to her chess tournaments. But his proudest accomplishment is having taught his daughters, Megan and Rachel, how to swim. Paul had been a lifeguard and thought that everyone should learn to swim. Because of this, he was instrumental in Rachel’s love of the water and all her accomplishments associated with it.

What brought Paul the most joy was spending time with his granddaughter, Zoey. She called him “Pop Pop” Megan calls Zoey “PJ” (PopPop, Jr.). They loved going to the playground, feeding the dog, watching Tom & Jerry, going on outings, he even introduced Bob Marley and his love of Caribbean music and reggae to her.

He leaves behind to cherish his memory, his devoted wife, Janet Johnson Stewart of Nashville; loving daughters, Megan B Stewart and Rachel D Stewart of Antioch; very special granddaughter, Zoey Noel Stewart, of Antioch; loving sister, Henri Lynne Smith (devoted brother-in-law, Kent Smith) of Memphis; brothers, David Todd Stewart of Memphis and Kelvin Coy (Cheryl) Stewart of Nashville; father-in-law, John (Lenora) Johnson of Anniston, AL; sister-in-law, Anita (Anthony) Etheridge of Nashville; brothers-in-law, David (Connie) Johnson of Anniston, AL., Keith Johnson of Gordon, GA; special nieces, Nicole, Kristen, Maya; other nieces and nephews, other relatives, and many, many friends.


Family and friends will gather to remember Mr. Stewart on Saturday February 20, 2016 at Schrader Lane Church of Christ, 1234 Schrader Lane, Nashville, TN 37208. Visitation begins at 11:00 am with funeral services to follow at 12 noon.