He was born August 12, 1931, in Iredell County, and was a son of the late A.D. Dillard and Foy Shook Stewart. He was a self employed mechanic and attended Ostwalt Baptist Church. A good ol’ southern boy, Pete grew up working the cotton fields of his hometown of Statesville. He spent his 20s and 30s racing, and competed in his first NASCAR race, the Wilkes 160, on October 11, 1953, at the age of 21. From 1953 to 1965, Pete competed in over 17 NASCAR races, completing over 1400 miles of pavement and dirt track racing including the 1965 Daytona 500 where he raced the #53 1963 Ford Galaxie. Many remember him as a young man competing at the Hickory Motor Speedway making laps in his #43 race car. Pete is still today listed as an All-time Track Champion for 1962 and 1963. Following his racing career, Pete owned and operated his own garage working as a skilled mechanic near his home on Wallace Springs Road. He was an avid hunter and deep sea fisherman, making multiple fishing trips with friends each year to the NC coast where he successfully fished in many King Mackerel tournaments. During his later years, Pete proudly accepted Christ into his heart, asking the Lord to save him. During this time he was very active, taking great pride in working his abundant garden and spending time daily with good buddies. He could routinely be found at Hardee’s and Junior’s Garage, cutting up, telling jokes, tall tales, and stories of the past.
He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Judy Matheson Stewart; and two sons, Richard and Ray Stewart.
Survivors include five sons, Rex Stewart (Lisa) of Stony Point, Jerry Stewart (Susan) of Statesville, Jeff Stewart of Troutman, Scott Freeland of Statesville and Sam Stewart of McAdenville; three brothers, Sonny, Darrell and Willard Stewart; three sisters, Cathy Benfield (Larry), Joyce Bolick and Hazel Poole; and his companion of 12 years, Edna Lackey.
Services celebrating Pete's life will be conducted at 11:00 Saturday at the Westmoreland Chapel of Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home with the Rev. Thomas Corbell officiating. Burial will follow at Iredell Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Casey Smith, Ethan Rumple, Marty Cass, Andy Elmore, Todd Medlin and Chad Stewart.
The family will receive friends from 9:30 to 11:00 on Saturday morning at the funeral home prior to the service. .
Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.bunchjohnsonfuneralhome.com.
Memorials are requested in lieu of flowers to be sent to the Gordon Hospice House, c/o Hospice & Palliative Care of Iredell County, Inc., 2347 Simonton Road, Statesville, NC 28625.
Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home is entrusted with the arrangements.
The family would like to thank the loving, caring staff of the Gordon Hospice House for the extraordinary care given to Mr. Stewart. A special thanks to Lindsey Chenevey, Anna Blanton, Marty Cass, Sharon Snow, Lynne Brown, Dr. Ellen Andrews, Joy Macnichol, NP-C and Tom Corbell.
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