Stewart Enterprises, Inc. was the second largest provider of funeral and cemetery services in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
. The company is headquartered in
Jefferson, Louisiana
Jefferson is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the north side (referred to as the "East Bank") of the Mississippi River. Jefferson is part of the New Orleans– Metairie– Kenner metropolit ...
and employs nearly 5,400 people in 218 funeral homes and 140 cemeteries in 24 states and
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. The company was publicly traded and listed on
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
under the ticker symbol STEI. Frank B. Stewart, Jr. serves as chairman of the board. Thomas J. Crawford is president and chief executive officer. Thomas M. Kitchen is senior executive vice president and chief financial officer. In December 2013,
Service Corporation International
Service Corporation International is an American provider of funeral goods and services as well as cemetery property and services. It is headquartered in Neartown, Houston, Texas, and operates secondary corporate offices in Jefferson (New Orl ...
completed its previously announced acquisition of Stewart Enterprises at a $1.4 billion price.
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...
business acquired the three St. Vincent de Paul Cemeteries and the St. Vincent de Paul Marble Shop, a company that built monuments for the cemeteries. Stewart kept both businesses, and they flourished. By 1931, his sons Frank Sr. and Charles incorporated the business as the Acme Marble & Granite Co. In 1949, the company established Lake Lawn Park Cemetery in New Orleans and developed a large perpetual-care community mausoleum with more than 31,000 crypts. In 1969, under the tutelage of President Frank B. Stewart, Jr. (Albert's grandson), the company purchased the adjoining
Metairie Cemetery
Metairie Cemetery is a cemetery in southeastern Louisiana. The name has caused some people to mistakenly presume that the cemetery is located in Metairie, Louisiana, but it is located within the New Orleans city limits, on Metairie Road (and f ...
.
Expansion
In the 1980s, Stewart expanded from its base in Louisiana and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
to
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
,
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
. The company went public in 1991, and, over the next several years, expanded to 30 states and 12 countries. In 1997, the firm announced a partnership with the Archdiocese of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
for the building and construction of funeral homes on nine of the Church's cemeteries and management of preneed sales at 11 cemeteries. Stewart Enterprises celebrated its centennial on April 26, 2010.
Associations
Stewart's associated businesses and affiliations include the Acme Mausoleum Corporation in Texas and Louisiana; Tributes.com, an online memorial site; and Investor Trust, Inc. (ITI), a wholly owned, Texas-based investment firm for preneed trust and the company's portfolio. Stewart owns a number of historic cemeteries including Metairie Cemetery (Metairie, La.), Royal Palm Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home (West Palm Beach, Fla.), and Wisconsin Memorial Park (Brookfield, Wis.).
Approximately 41 percent of Stewart's business is located in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
, Florida and Texas, states that have high proportions of senior citizens.