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The youngest son of wildcatter-turned-oil tycoon Oscar Wyatt and the glamorous Lynn Wyatt (socialite, philanthropist and fixture on the international best-dressed list for decades), this 45-year-old elected to follow quite a different career path. Soulful and sensitive, he’s anything but an entitled-acting heir: This empathetic gentleman serves as vice president and chief operating officer at Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, a Dignity Memorial funeral provider owned by the largest funeral conglomerate, Service Corporation International. Having attended too many funerals in his former line of work — law enforcement — Wyatt was determined to bring an entirely new level of personal rapport and refinement to the services he directed. Literally on call 24/7, he’s the man you, ultimately, want to know.

Image: Lynn and Oscar Wyatt with Brad at Allington, late 1960s

Q: You’re the son of luminaries Lynn and Oscar Wyatt. What did they teach you?
Both my parents told me that regardless of what station you are in life, strive to be the best you can be. Our parents wanted us to find our own career path and give it 100 percent.

Q: How did they not spoil you and your brothers?
The first job I had, I was 13, and I worked the full-service aisle at the Texaco station on River Oaks Boulevard. It was during the energy crisis, because I had to remember odd- and even-numbered plates. During the summers, our dad wanted us to go to work. I went to Camp Olympia and Camp La Junta, but when camp ended, we had to get a job. It was just something we did every summer. If we didn’t find a job in the city, we would go to the ranch and build fences.

Q: How did you find yourself working for a funeral home?
I had been to quite a few funerals for police officers and associates of my father and felt there wasn’t enough attention to detail. I thought this might be something where I could find a niche.

Image: State Trooper Brad Wyatt, 1994

Q: Your career path prior to Geo. H. Lewis.
My brother Trey, who now lives in Aruba, was involved in law enforcement when I was growing up, and he would tell me stories … My first job was working as a dispatcher with the sheriff’s department in Harris County. I was getting ready to go to college, and I told my dad I wanted to take off a year. He said, “That’s fine, get your stuff, an apartment someplace and then, when you go back to school, you can live here.” The next day I was northbound on State Highway 6, headed to College Station to see the registrar at Texas A&M. Since I procrastinated getting on-campus housing, I had to pay $185 a month rent, and my dad told me I needed to get a job to supplement my $300 monthly allowance. I went to work for the Harris County Sheriff’s Department. I worked four 10-hour shifts each week — I worked like that the entire time. After college, I stayed in law enforcement for 13 years. I was accepted to the Texas Highway patrol and graduated first in my class.

Q: Do you have a mentor?
Billy Wells, my best friend and the president and CEO of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons.

Q: Lessons from Mother
Attention to detail. When my mother would go to a hotel, she’d comment about the staff’s ability to anticipate your needs. This profession is very linked to the hospitality profession. We tell our stewards, “If someone is getting out of a car carrying something, don’t ask them if you can help them. Just help them.” Another time a driver told mom, “Now, I’ll be right outside. You look for me.” And my mom said, “I kind of thought he should have been looking for me.” So I advise our coachman to always be looking for the family. I’ve learned things like that from her.

Q: What’s the most lavish funeral you’ve planned?
One’s lifestyle should be reflected in one’s farewell. With my grandmother, my uncle wanted to have a champagne toast to her at the end of the funeral since she was always referred to as “Champagne Annie.” Here, we’ve arranged for New Orleans jazz bands, helicopter charters to disperse ashes … Some people will even repeat a loved one’s favorite meal. Other times, we’ve arranged to bring in the singing cadets from Texas A&M and a horse-drawn funeral coach at a family’s ranch.

Q: What was it like growing up in Allington on River Oaks Boulevard?
I was born and raised there and the last child to leave. It was built in 1932 by John Staub and was the first house in Houston to have central air conditioning, complete with an engine room that looked like it belonged on the Titanic. I remember my parents entertaining there. They had a lot of big parties, and each one was done differently. We learned that about five hours prior to a party, you don’t hang around. You get out of Dodge — it’s a stress area, and you need to give mom her space.

Image: John Staub’s Cullen House, called Allington by the Wyatt family. Credit: "The Country Houses of John F. Staub, Texas A&M University Press, 2007. Photo Richard Creek.

Q: Why didn’t you go into the family business?
For a while I worked overseeing my father’s properties in Texas, which I still do now. Mostly ranching properties — we have three ranching divisions in Texas and one in Mexico. We have ranches in Utah, Colorado and Oklahoma. My brother Douglas helps out with the one in Colorado; we’re all indentured servants.

Q: Biggest misconceptions about what you do?
One misconception is that people think making funeral arrangements is not that difficult. But there is so much to be done. The family has to consider the timing, transporting guests to and from, logistics, scripture readings, music, eulogists, the obituary, invites, flowers, acknowledgment cards, benefitting charities and who will call them. That’s before we’ve even thought about the funeral merchandise. There is so much to do that many times people will compare it to planning a wedding. But instead of months, we just have hours … The other misconception is that it can be a very macabre environment. There are a lot of families who want to celebrate a life well lived. They want us to assist them in capturing the essence of their mother or their father, that they lived a full life, and they’re not here to grieve but celebrate that.

Q: What is the greatest compliment one can achieve in your profession?
When families ask for a funeral director by name. It is so deeply touching to me personally, and I am humbled when families ask for me. It’s a sacred trust. You drop whatever executive duty you have and completely devote yourself to that family.

Image at top: Portrait by Jack Thompson