Lemuel Stewart, Jr. Obituary

The following obituary is being shared as a courtesy to the local family and friends of Mr. Stewart. On behalf of the MRC Funeral Home family, we extend our sympathy. 

Lemuel C. ‘Lem’ Stewart Jr.

July 31, 1946 – June 29, 2025

WEEMS, Va. — Lemuel Carl “Lem” Stewart Jr. who was born July 31, 1946, in Whiteville, N.C., passed away after a four-year battle with cancer June 29, 2025, at his home on the Corrotoman River in Weems, Va., with his wife of 48 years, Pat Burgess, at his side.

Lem loved the river. He loved fishing, sailing, boating and hunting with friends in the surrounding woods. An even greater passion was golf, and he loved playing on some of the greatest courses in this country and Scotland with Pat and their friends. Through the years, he relished having time to hone his golf skills whenever he could.

A graduate of East Tennessee State University, Lem used his expertise in the information technology arena to found Health Communication Services, creating efficient billing systems for doctors and hospitals under the Anthem umbrella.

He was adept at building alliances between business and government. While serving as director of the Department of Information Technology for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and as CIO of the Virginia Information Technology Agency (VITA), he consolidated 85 statewide governmental computer systems into one. Within that cost-cutting project, Lem established a data center in southwest Virginia, bringing much-needed jobs to that rural area. He later consulted for Advantus Strategies, specializing in forging business and government.

He was recognized nationally for his innovation in governmental technology. IBM presented him its Leadership Award in 2005, and “Government Technology” magazine named him one of America’s “25 Top Doers, Dreamers & Drivers” in 2006.

He was, above all, a good neighbor and friend, stepping up in storms, sharing vegetables from his summer garden, and steaming thousands upon thousands of crabs caught from his dock.

He was predeceased by his parents, Lemuel C. Stewart Sr. and Inez Hardwick Stewart; and by his sister, Jerry Lynn Stewart Smith.

He is survived by his wife, Pat, of the home; his sister, Kay Stewart Guinn, and her husband, B.H., of Wallace, and their children, Kimberly and Thomas and their families; brother-in-law, J.C. Smith of Wallace, nephews Wayne Smith, Mark Smith; and his beloved beagle, Lulu.

A celebration of life and interment of ashes will be held at his family’s gravesite in Wallace at a later date. Online condolences may be made at www.mrcfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to The Boys and Girls Club of the Northern Neck, 517 N. Main Street, Kilmarnock, VA 22482