Hispanic Chamber Honors Eastside Pioneer

Mission Funeral Home owner Lois Villaseñor (Photo By John Anderson)

As a longtime funeral director, Lois Villaseñor had always considered herself an old hand at matters of death and grief. But no amount of experience dealing with other families' losses prepared her for the untimely passing of her husband and business partner, Charles Villaseñor, in 1991. She was numb with grief and barely remembers the funeral service. "You never know what a family really goes through until it happens to you," said Villaseñor. "But from every challenge you grow to become a strong individual."

That strength helped Villaseñor stay on track in growing the family business, Mission Funeral Home, which she and her husband started from scratch to serve East Austin's Hispanic community after moving here from Houston. More than 44 years later, the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will honor Villaseñor as the Businesswoman of the Year at the organization's annual awards dinner Saturday night at the Downtown Hilton. Villaseñor will be one of six to be honored.

Long recognized as a pioneer in her field, Villaseñor was the first Hispanic woman to serve on the Texas Funeral Service Commission as a 1989 appointee of Gov. Bill Clements. She served six years and was then asked to step into the interim director's role at the commission, which over the years has had its share of turmoil. (Her successor at the commission, former Director Eliza May, is now president of the Hispanic Chamber.)

"Lois has never been one to seek accolades and attention," said May. "But she had the vision and stamina to keep growing the business after her husband died. She's a good example of what a small-business owner can do if [she] plays her business decisions correctly." Mission Funeral, May added, has a reputation in the community for providing pauper funeral services. "She makes it possible for everyone to have a dignified funeral no matter what their economic situation is," she said.

Villaseñor and her husband moved to Austin in 1959 after a visit to the state Capitol. "We came to Austin and looked around, and we chose East Austin because we wanted to be a part of the Hispanic community," Villaseñor said. "We saw there was a void in funeral services available to the families over here. This was way back when the bodies would lie at home." The Villaseñors immersed themselves in the community. And Charles Villaseñor, political legend holds, was one of a handful of East Austin business leaders who in the early Seventies signed off on the so-called "gentleman's agreement," which unofficially set aside one designated Hispanic seat and one African-American seat on the City Council. The agreement, for better or for worse, exists to this day.

Lois Villaseñor, mother of three and grandmother of two, presides over the business that includes her son and two nephews. The family outfit includes the flagship funeral home on Cesar Chavez, another in San Marcos, and a new one that son Charles II will open in South Austin in February. Also, Mission subsidiary A Simple Tradition provides scaled-down, cost-saving alternatives to the traditional route.

"I wouldn't give this up for anything," Villaseñor said the other day. "It takes a certain kind of person to be in this type of business, where the hours are long and the pay is not that good. But you get a certain amount of fulfillment out of serving a family in need."

In addition to Villaseñor, the Hispanic Chamber will honor Austin engineer and business owner José I. Guerra, chamber Chair Flynn Nogueira, County Court-at-Law Judge (and district judge candidate) Gisela Triana, and businesses Marketplace Austin and Time Warner Cable.