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                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.37

                            STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT

      THIS AGREEMENT, dated as of December 18, 2000, between RUSSELL W. ALLEN, a
resident of Montgomery County, Texas (the "Seller"), and CARRIAGE SERVICES,
INC., a Delaware corporation (the "Company");

                               W I T N E S E T H:
                               - - - - - - - - -

      WHEREAS, the Seller is the owner and holder of 46,392 shares (the
"Shares") of Class B Common Stock, $.01 par value ("Common Stock"), of the
Company; and

      WHEREAS, the original certificates representing the Shares are currently
held by the Company under a pledge created under the Amended and Restated
Security Agreement - Pledge dated March 31, 2000 between the Seller and the
Company (the "Pledge Agreement"), securing the Seller's obligations under his
Promissory Note dated March 31, 2000 payable to the Company in the original
principal amount of $1,068,416.62 (the "Note"); and

      WHEREAS, the parties desire that the Company purchase the Shares from the
Seller in partial satisfaction of the Seller's obligations under the Note, on
the terms and conditions herein specified;

      NOW, THEREFORE, the parties agree as follows:

      1. Purchase and Sale of the Shares.

            1.1. Purchase of the Shares. The Seller agrees to sell and transfer
      to the Company, and the Company agrees to purchase and accept from the
      Seller, the Shares, free and clear of any and all security interests,
      pledges, liens, encumbrances or restrictions whatsoever ("Liens").

            1.2. Consideration for the Shares. The consideration for the Shares
      shall be $1.50 per share, or $69,588.00 in the aggregate (the "Purchase
      Price"). All of the Purchase Price shall be payable by the Company's
      cancellation of a portion of the Seller's indebtedness under the Note
      equal to the full amount of the Purchase Price. Such cancellation shall be
      applied first to accrued and unpaid interest from the date of the Note
      through the Closing Date referred to in Section 2, and then to the
      principal balance. At the same time, all of the pledges and other Liens
      under the Pledge Agreement shall thereupon be released, and the Pledge
      Agreement shall be terminated. At any time after the effectiveness of this
      Agreement, the Company will, at the Seller's request, provide evidence to
      the Seller of the Company's cancellation of such portion of the Note and
      termination of the Pledge Agreement in a manner consistent with this
      Section 1.2.
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            1.3. Effectiveness. The purchase and sale of the Shares shall be
      consummated at the Closing set forth in Section 2 and shall be deemed
      effective on the Closing Date therein specified. However, it is understood
      that this Agreement is expressly made subject to the Seller not revoking
      the Separation Agreement and Release of even date herewith between the
      Seller and the Company, and in the event of such revocation, this
      Agreement (and the purchase and sale of the Shares hereby and the partial
      cancellation of the Note accomplished in payment of the Purchase Price
      therefor) shall thereupon become void ab initio, as if never entered into.

            1.4. Further Assurances. The Seller agrees to execute and deliver
      from time to time after the Closing, at the request of the Company, and
      without further consideration, such additional instruments of conveyance
      and transfer, and to take such other action as the Company may reasonably
      require to effectively convey, assign, transfer and deliver the Shares to
      the Company and carry out the other transactions contemplated hereunder.

      2. The Closing. The closing of the transactions contemplated under this
Agreement (the "Closing") shall occur at the offices of Thompson & Knight,
L.L.P., 1200 Smith, Suite 3600, Houston, Texas, at 9:00 a.m. on December 18,
2000, or at such other date, time or place as may be mutually agreed upon by the
parties, but in no event later than December 31, 2000. The date and time of the
Closing is herein called the "Closing Date", and shall be deemed to have
occurred as of the commencement of business on the Closing Date. At the Closing,
the Seller shall deliver all certificates representing the Shares, duly endorsed
or accompanied by duly executed stock powers. All action to be taken at the
Closing as hereinafter set forth, and all documents and instruments executed and
delivered, and all payments made with respect thereto, shall be considered to
have been taken, delivered or made simultaneously, and no such action or
delivery or payment shall be considered as complete until all action incident to
the Closing has been completed.

      3. Representations and Warranties of the Seller. The Seller hereby
represents and warrants to and agrees with the Company that:

            3.1. Authority. The Seller has the full right, capacity and
      authority to enter into and perform this Agreement and to consummate the
      transactions contemplated hereby. This Agreement constitutes the legal,
      valid and binding obligation of the Seller enforceable against him in
      accordance with its terms. Neither the execution, delivery nor performance
      of this Agreement nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated
      hereby will result in a violation or breach of any term or provision of or
      constitute a default or acceleration under any contract, agreement, lease,
      license or other commitment to which the Seller is a party or by which he
      or his assets or properties are bound, nor violate any statute or any
      order, writ, injunction or decree of any court, administrative agency or
      governmental body.

            3.2. Title to the Shares. The Seller has good and marketable title
      to the Shares, free and clear of any and all Liens other than under the
      Pledge Agreement, and the Seller has the absolute and unrestricted right,
      power, authority and capacity to sell the Shares to the

                                      -2-
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      Company as provided in this Agreement. Upon delivery of the Shares to the
      Company, the Company will receive from the Seller good and marketable
      title thereto, free and clear of any and all Liens.

      4. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents
and warrants to and agrees with the Seller that:

            4.1. Organization and Qualification. The Company is a corporation
      duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of
      the State of Delaware.

            4.2. Authority. The execution, delivery and performance by the
      Company of this Agreement have been duly authorized and approved by the
      Board of Directors of the Company, and all action required by law and the
      Company's Certificate of Incorporation and bylaws to authorize the
      execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement has
      been duly and properly taken. This Agreement is valid and binding on the
      Company enforceable against it in accordance with its terms. The execution
      and delivery by the Company of this Agreement do not, and the issuance of
      the Shares will not, violate or constitute a breach under any provision of
      the Certificate of Incorporation or bylaws of the Company or any contract,
      lease, license or commitment to which the Company is a party or by which
      it or its properties are bound, nor violate any statute, regulation or law
      or any order, writ, injunction or decree of any court, administrative
      agency or governmental body.

            4.3. Adequate Capital. As of the Closing, the capital of the Company
      will not be impaired, and the Company's purchase of the Shares from the
      Seller will not cause any impairment of the capital of the Company, within
      the meaning of Section 160 of the General Corporation Law of the State of
      Delaware.

      5. Miscellaneous.

            5.1. Survival of Representations and Warranties. Regardless of any
      investigation made at any time by or on behalf of any party hereto, all
      covenants, agreements, representations and warranties made hereunder or
      pursuant hereto or in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby
      and thereby shall not terminate but shall survive the Closing and continue
      in effect thereafter.

            5.2. Notices. All notices, requests, consents and other
      communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have
      been given if personally delivered or mailed, first class, registered or
      certified mail, postage prepaid, as follows:

                                      -3-
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                  (i)   if to the Company:

                        Carriage Services, Inc.
                        1900 St. James Place - 4th Floor
                        Houston, Texas 77056
                        Attn: Chief Executive Officer

                  (ii)  if to the Seller:

                        Mr. Russell W. Allen
                        11301 Lake Forest Drive
                        Conroe, Texas 77384

            5.3. Assignment; Binding Effect. This Agreement may not be assigned
      by either party hereto without the prior written consent of the other
      party. Subject to the foregoing, this Agreement shall be binding upon and
      inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective
      successors, assigns, heirs and personal representatives.

            5.4. Section and Paragraph Headings. The section and paragraph
      headings in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not
      affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.

            5.5. Amendment. This Agreement may be amended only by an instrument
      in writing executed by the parties hereto.

            5.6. Entire Agreement. This Agreement and the other documents
      referred to herein constitute the entire agreement of the parties hereto,
      and supersede all prior under standings with respect to the subject matter
      hereof and thereof.

            5.7. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be construed and enforced
      under and in accordance with and governed by the law of the State of
      Texas.

            5.8. Construction. As the context requires or permits: pronouns used
      herein shall include the masculine, the feminine and neuter; terms used in
      plural shall include the singular, and singular terms shall include the
      plural; "hereof", "herein", "hereunder" and "hereto" shall refer to this
      Agreement; and section and paragraph references, when not expressly
      referring to another agreement or document, shall mean sections or
      paragraphs in this Agreement.

            5.9. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts,
      each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which shall
      constitute the same instrument.

                                      -4-
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            IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Agreement has been executed and delivered
as of the date first above written.

                                        THE SELLER:

                                        ________________________________________
                                        RUSSELL W. ALLEN

                                        THE COMPANY:

                                        CARRIAGE SERVICES, INC.

                                        By _____________________________________
                                           MELVIN C. PAYNE, Chief Executive
                                           Officer

                                      -5-<PAGE>

                                                                 EXHIBIT 10.4(c)

                           [PERRY JUDD'S LETTERHEAD]

March 24, 2000

Mr. Howard Sullivan
Sr. Vice President Publication Sales
Perry Judd's Incorporated
7777 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, Virginia 22043

Dear Howard,

I wanted to confirm and formalize our conversation over the telephone yesterday.

As a direct result of your past performance at Judd's Incorporated, your more
recent performance for Perry Judd's Incorporated and our desire not only to
recognize your performance and commitment, but to encourage your continued
performance and commitment to our company and its objectives, we would like to
offer you a $200,000 recognition bonus if you remain active and effective in
your position of Senior Vice President of Publication Sales through at least
March 31, 2002. Besides that, we all like you and recognize that having you on
the team is, as Martha Stewart says, "a good thing."

The $200,000 will be paid to you if or when you leave the employ of Perry Judd's
Incorporated or retire, as long as that departure or retirement is on or after
March 31, 2002. It will also be paid to you if there is a change of control of
the company at any time on or prior to March 31, 2002, or if there is a change
of control of the company while you are still in its employ after March 31,
2002.

Of course, Howard, should there be reason for termination prior to March 31,
2002, for good cause, this agreement would terminate immediately and be of no
further force or effect. Good cause means a willful breach or habitual neglect
of your duties, chronic alcoholism or addiction to narcotics (lawful or
otherwise), criminal conviction for fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation of
assets, malicious mischief or any act of moral turpitude or any felony or any
other material breach.

Should you, during your employment with Perry Judd's Incorporated, become
permanently physically disabled and you are no longer able to perform your
duties, you will be entitled to the $200,000 on a pro rata basis. Also, in the
incomprehensible event of your untimely death during your employment, the
$200,000 will be payable pro rata to your designated beneficiary.

If, during your employment from April 1, 2000 to March 31, 2002, the corporation
should desire for any reason whatsoever to terminate your employment and does,
the $200,000 would still be payable pro rata to you as long as the termination
is not for good cause as defined.

We hope that you understand our regard for you personally as well as the
significant contributions you have made and will make to the well-being and
value of Perry Judd's Incorporated. I'm looking forward to working with you in
the years ahead, Howard, and I'm truly very pleased to recognize your efforts in
this way.

Sincerely,

Craig Hutchison
President/CEO

CH/rs

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