Licenced morticians Aguero, Jackson, Jr., Villarreal & Jackson, Sr.

By María Eugenia Guerra

"We have longstanding relationships with Laredo families who have trusted us over generations to perform services befitting of the loved one they have lost," said Joe Jackson, Jr., of Joe Jackson Heights Funeral Chapels, which this month marks a 30-year milestone in business.

The company operates two locations; the first established on Loring in 1972 by Joe Jackson, Sr., and his wife Mary Therese Vidaurri Hanchett Jackson, and another at 1900 Springfield. A third chapel, an 18,000-square foot facility, is planned for Jacaman Road in North Laredo and will be completed in the spring of 2003.

"Our tradition of trust dates back to the life of my grandfather Henry L. Jackson, and it has continued through my father's tenure in business and now my own," he continued. "We believe in what we do, and we have always worked hard to understand the wishes of our clients so that they can feel they have chosen the right service and made the right arrangements. When they are grieving, the last thing they want to do is deal with the unknown. We want them to be comfortable and to have a sense that everything about the services will be to their expectations," Jackson said, adding, "The comfort level of the family dictates everything we do. We do all possible to live up to our motto: our family serving yours."

"Funeral services sometimes end up being a celebration of someone's life," said Mario Aguero, one of the four funeral directors and licensed morticians on the staff. "We encourage family members to customize services in a loving and meaningful way. The pictures and personal articles that are displayed, the music that is chosen -- these are ways to personalize the services. Some prefer hymns and others mariachi. We've also had Tejano music and bagpipes," Aguero continued. "Our job is to orchestrate the services and to move families through a hard time by attending to details that have meaning for them."

"For every funeral service there is a business component and a service component," Jackson said, adding, "On the business side, I'll be the first to tell a family that the purpose of the service is not to spend thousands of dollars; rather it is to recognize the life of the deceased."

He continued, "The service component includes beginning the process of closure for a grieving family. We carry out the family's desires with respect, sympathy, and knowledge, and we live by our reputation that we do all possible, and more, to help families move through their grief."

According to Jackson, the highest accolade and the greatest reward in his business comes from a family member who acknowledges that the service of a loved one had meaning because every detail, every wish was carried out. "This has been a key to our sustainability and growth over generations. It's a comfort to us to know that we have earned the confidence of families," he said.

"We pride ourselves in the attention to detail we offer all families," Aguero said. "The services we conduct for veterans exemplify our desire to go above and beyond what is expected of us. We do all possible, and the Jackson family has for all the years it has served this community, to accord veterans the dignity and military honors that befit the sacrifices they made as young men." Aguero said that one of his roles as a director is to ensure a firing team, an honor guard, and the playing of taps for military services.

Jackson stressed the benefits of a pre-need burial plan. "This alleviates so many of the details a family will face. It is a practical, loving business decision taken care of in advance, a decision that spares the family the additional grief of making financial arrangements and other decisions that could have been made earlier and under less stressful circumstances," he said.

Jackson noted changes in trends in services over the years. "We're very much aware of the increased initiative of families to become involved. We assist in those initiatives as much as possible, but we also step aside if those are the wishes of the family. We offer many personalized choices for caskets. Some are religious, some are simple, some reflect through laser-etched panels college affiliations or branch of military service. Some include a memory drawer for photographs or jewelry," he said.

Joe Jackson Heights Funeral Chapels attends to the service needs of about 250 families a year. The company employs 11 full-time employees, including Joe Jackson, Sr., Joe Jackson, Jr., Mario Aguero, and Alex E. Villarreal IV, funeral directors.