Friends and those who knew him remember Stewart Trese as funny and honest. Mr. Trese’s mother, Karen Trese, remembers him as brilliant.

Mr. Trese, a senior marketing major from Fort Worth, died Tuesday at the age of 23. His death is being investigated as a homicide.

“He was my baby,” Karen Trese said. “He was the best guy in the whole world. He’s always been wonderful since his childhood, since he was little.”

After graduating from Hill School in Fort Worth as valedictorian in 2009, Mr. Trese began attending TCU. He was expected to graduate this summer with a degree in marketing, minoring in Japanese.

“He was very good with language. He loved Japanese,” Karen Trese said.

Liz O’Keefe, an administrative assistant in the Neely School of Business, recalled that Mr. Trese rarely went without a smile.

“[Mr. Trese] was always smiling –even if he had a bad day, he had a smile on his face,” O’Keefe said. “[Mr. Trese] was really happy – happy go lucky.”

On campus, Mr. Trese was involved in and passionate about his fraternity, Brothers Under Christ, Michael Meek, president of BYX said.

“He was kind of introverted, but not in a bad way,” Meek said. “He was close to a lot of guys and could talk to [them] all day.”

“He wanted everybody to love him,” Karen Trese said.

According to Mr. Trese’s obituary, Stewart was preceded in death by his grandparents, Ralph and Virginia Trese, with whom he was very close.

He is survived by his Mother, Karen Trese and husband, Chuck Cotteleer; father, Dr. Tom Trese and wife, Dianne Trese; sister, Courtney Rodriguez; brother, Jeff Jones; brother, Steve Trese and wife, Julie Trese, and niece and nephew, Claire and Jackson Trese; sister, Megan Trese Mack and husband, Zachary Mack; stepbrother, Colin Knox and wife, Ellen Knox, and niece Pepper Knox; and numerous uncles, aunts and cousins.

Chancellor Victor Boschini requested the TCU flag to be lowered to half-staff in honor of Mr. Trese’s passing. 

Mr. Trese’s funeral was Saturday at Altamesa Church of Christ.

There will be a memorial service organized by friends and classmates honoring Mr. Trese on Monday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. in Robert Carr Chapel.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Monday, Feb. 10 at 11:10 a.m.