Charles Natcher Stewart

Charles Natcher Stewart, the only son of Drs. Harriette McLaughin Stewart and J. Natcher Stewart, was born May 6, 1948, in St. Louis, Missouri. He departed this life on January 10, 2021, in Frisco, Texas, at the Cottages of Chapel Creek where he was receiving care for Alzheimer’s disease.

When Charlie was eighteen months old the family moved to Dallas, Texas, where he grew to be a proud Texan. He graduated from Allen Military Academy in Bryan, Texas, high school class of 1966. He attended college at NE Missouri State College (now Truman University) in Kirksville, Missouri, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1973. While attending college he met and married Karyl Kay Van Dyne of Seymour, Iowa, in 1971. As young newlyweds they lived in Missouri and Iowa until the marriage ended in divorce in 1976.

In the late 1970s Charlie accepted a position with a Wendy’s franchisee and moved to Indiana. There, he married Sidna M. Eventually the couple moved to the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, area where their twin sons, Jonathon Natcher and Craig Matthew, were born in 1983. After managing and contributing to the success of others’ Wendy’s franchises, Charlie and Sidna made the decision to move their young family to SE Texas, where they bought their own Wendy’s franchise in 1988.  Charlie worked hard to make the business a success, owning and operating six Wendy’s franchises in the Golden Triangle of SE Texas until their sale in 2018. One of his proudest professional moments was receiving the 2014 Dave Thomas Founders’ Award, the highest honor given by the Wendy’s Corporation, to recognize the franchisee with the highest operations performance. He found his work fulfilling and devoted a lot of time and energy to its success. Sidna preceded her husband in death in 2006.

As a widower, Charlie found and reconnected with Karyl, his college sweetheart, and the two remarried in 2009.  Together, they enjoyed traveling to the Kentucky Derby, Florida, and Hawaii, as well as visits to family in California, Arizona, and Iowa. Charlie once said he felt it was more important to have experiences than things. He enjoyed sharing these experiences with Karyl. Among his fondest memories were childhood summers spent with his grandparents in Hollywood, Florida, where he swam in the Atlantic and fished in the Inner Coastal Waterway. When his son Jonathon married Alex in 2018, Charlie found joy in welcoming a daughter-in-law and four grandchildren. He loved having them come visit and hoped to help them have experiences which would develop lifelong memories of good times together as his grandparents had provided him.

A man of faith, Charlie reaffirmed his belief in God through baptism at Wesley United Methodist Church in Beaumont, Texas, where he was a member and attended as long as his health permitted.

In his leisure, Charlie enjoyed fishing and was a devoted Dallas Cowboys fan. He ALWAYS cheered for his Cowboys, win or lose. A soft spoken man, he was a gentle spirit who loved his family and animals, especially his cats, Mater and Tater.

Left to mourn his passing are his wife, Karyl, of Carrolton, Texas; sons Craig of Houston and Jonathon (Alex) and grandchildren Rysen, Koah, Sarai, and Soarn all of Manor, Texas; brothers-in law Robert (Kathy) and Richard (Mina) Van Dyne and other relatives, friends and business associates. Charles was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents, special childhood caretaker Lady B, and wife Sidna.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 16, at Wesley United Methodist Church in Beaumont, Texas, with inurnment at a later date in Seymour, Iowa.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption ( support.davethomasfoundation.org) or the Alzheimer’s Association ( act.alz.org ).