Joe Jackson Funeral Homes and Memorials

The idea of a complete funeral home in Laredo at the turn of the 19th century was non- existent. Only in the larger cities was this service available. In the late 1800's the local livery stable was a common place to rent a horse and wagon to transport the deceased to the cemetery, thus from there evolved the Funeral Director as we know them today.

 A gentleman by the name of John Convery owned the local livery stable/undertaking parlor. In 1913, Mr. Convery decided to visit his relatives in Ireland, and asked a funeral director in San Antonio, if he knew anyone who would come to Laredo and run the livery undertaking parlor for several months. 25-year-old Henry L. Jackson, unmarried, was working for a firm in San Antonio at the time, and seeing an opportunity, volunteered. Unfortunately Mr. Convery became ill on his trip and shortly after his return to Laredo, passed away. Several years later, Mrs. Convery offered the establishment to the recently married Jackson. The livery stable slowly became obsolete and the renovated building was slowly being the transformed strictly for funerals. In those years most of the wakes were held in the deceased's residence, and very slowly the trend was to have the wake, which was an all night affair, in the funeral home. This was so much more convenient for the family for several reasons, not the least of which was now the residence became a place of refuge, as most funerals were held in the afternoon the following day after the wake. Mr. Jackson slowly became the trusted person to call when someone passed away.

 Around this period, the State of Texas required persons who were in the profession to become licensed to embalm and conduct funerals. Henry took the examination and received his license #356 on May 10, 1935. At the time of his death in 1973, Mr. H. L. Jackson was the oldest licensed Mortician in the state of Texas. The livery stable/undertaking parlor at 1319 Farragut underwent several major changes and became transformed to a Funeral Home as the next generation of Jacksons came on the scene. Going from H. L. Jackson Funeral Home to H. L. Jackson and Sons and ultimately to Jackson Funeral Home. In 1972, Joe Jackson, my father, and my mother, Mary Therese moved from the established Funeral Home downtown to open their own establishment on the Heights appropriately known as Joe Jackson Heights Funeral Chapels, Loring at Cortez. During the next thirty years, under his watch, another Chapel was built at 1900 Springfield and most recently, our North Chapel at 1410 Jacaman Road, opened in January 2006.

 At the dawn of a new decade, the fourth generation of Jackson’s and staff now carries on the humble and noble tradition and responsibility of caring for, attending and serving the needs of the families of Laredo and the surrounding areas.

 Families have come to trust our funeral service professionals in their time of crisis and sorrow. Our support staff with close to 100 years of combined experience assisting the families we serve, are very capable and respectful with the unfortunate position our families suddenly find themselves in. Sympathy, with Respect and Knowledge for the families we have the honor to serve, continues to be the Joe Jackson tradition. We take great pride in our motto…