Stuart Mortuary Seasonal Memories

11/24/2025

11/21/2025

The pioneering trailblazer has joined the ancestors! Our condolences to her family and friends.

11/19/2025

Obsequies for Booker T. Washington

110 years ago at the age of 59, Booker T. Washington died in his home, The Oaks, at Tuskegee Institute. Due to his intense travel schedule and the political pressures that hung over him, Booker had lived with high blood pressure and chronic stress for years. In late October 1915, Booker cut a speaking trip to New England short as he was overcome by severe headaches and failing kidneys. He entered a hospital in New York, where various doctors diagnosed him with hardening of the arteries but failed to find a cure. Knowing he would likely die soon, Booker returned to Tuskegee on November 13, and died the next morning in his bed. He spent his last days in the company and care of his third wife, Margaret.

His legacy was championed by his daughter Portia, who worked to preserve his birthplace here in Hardy, Virginia, as Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial in 1945. Because of the significance of Booker's ideals and impact on America, Congress continued Portia's work by establishing this site as Booker T. Washington National Monument in 1956, ensuring that his story would inspire generations to come.

Image: black and white photograph of Booker T. Washington's casket lying in state at the Tuskegee Institute chapel surrounded by memorial wreaths (Library of Congress)

11/14/2025

11/13/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1HVjtctN22/?mibextid=WC7FNe

In 1894, Richardson saw a problem with the way the bodies of dead people were buried. It was common at that time to simply bury bodies in small, shallow graves or to try to lower their caskets with ropes into a deeper hole. Unfortunately, this required several people to work in unison to ensure that the casket was lowered evenly. Failure to do so could cause the casket to slip out of one of the ropes and to be damaged from hitting the ground. On November 13, 1894, Richardson patented the casket lowering device which consisted of a series of pulleys and ropes or cloths which ensured uniformity in the lowering process. This invention was very significant at that time and is used in all cemeteries today.

09/27/2025

09/15/2025

Today, we remember Eric Garner on what would have been 55th birthday. We honor his life by pushing forward, louder and stronger, in the fight for equality. We're thinking of Eric and his loved ones today. Rest In Power

09/07/2025

08/25/2025

08/06/2025

🎶Swing low, sweet Chair🎶

August 5, 2023, is a day we will never forget.

The ancestors were summoned to Montgomery, Alabama, for what will forever be remembered as the “Fade In The Water.”

Today, we reflect on the bravery, courage, and pure strength of those who swam, jumped, and leaped with all the power of Harriet, Fredrick, and Malcolm.

May we forever remember that a chair is still a chair — even when no one is sitting there.

Happy Chairteenth!

08/02/2025

Eunice Johnson wasn't only the co-founder of EBONY and JET Magazine—she was the founder of the Ebony Fashion Fair. Unlike anything before it, the fair was made to “showcase the most beautiful designs on the most gorgeous Black people, to show that Black people can wear anything.”

Learn about Eunice Johnson’s fashionable life and fabulous legacy: gty.art/4mr912V