About Us

About Our Funeral Home and Our Commitment to You

Overview

The History portion of our website is designed to inform you about the individuals who guided and directed our business throughout their lifetime, the family that originally built and operated Jimerson Funeral Home at our current location, and the history/background of my family, the current owners of the funeral home.

Stuart J. Lipsey
Funeral Director

Black and white photo of a classic black car parked in front of a building with a shingled roof and white pillars.

Hawthorn / Osborne History

Alice Louise Florey was born on October 12, 1901 in Overton, Rusk County, Texas to John Dupree Florey and Mamie Elizabeth Palmer Florey, both pioneer Rusk County families. She attended The Alexander Institute in Jacksonville, Texas and the College of Industrial Arts in Denton, Texas before marrying Neal A. Hawthorn in Carthage in 1922. Mr. & Mrs. Hawthorn were originally hardware dealers, and went on to establish Hawthorn Funeral Home and Hawthorn Life Insurance Company in Carthage. They had one son, Neal A. Hawthorn, Jr. Following the death of Mr. Hawthorn in 1947, she continued the day to day operations of the funeral home with the help of longtime manager Mark Osborne, whom she married on September 14, 1968. Mr. & Mrs. Osborne retired from the funeral home in 1975. She remained active in Hawthorn Life Insurance Company until 1993. "Miss Alice," as she was known throughout the community, was a faithful Methodist and remained active in the First United Methodist Church of Carthage until 1993, where she was a Sunday school teacher, sang in the church choir, was a member of the Administrative Board, and was a member of the Wesleyan Sunday School Class. Miss Alice was active in many community affairs including Carthage Book Club having joined in 1922, serving as President twice, and was named life member in 1992. She also was a member of the Altrusa Club where she served as President. Mr. Osborne preceded her in death in 1997. Mrs. Osborne passed away on March 21, 1999 at the age of 97.


James Mark Osborne was born on July 12, 1907 in Frost, Texas to Grover Clint Osborne and Melania Northern Osborne. He spent his childhood years in Coolidge, Texas and after finishing high school, he attended mortuary school in 1938 and became and licensed funeral director and embalmer. He married Louise Dutka and she preceded him in death on June 12, 1967. In 1938, Mr. Osborne moved to Carthage where he was employed at Hawthorn Funeral Home. He retired as manager in 1975. Mr. Osborne was also president of Hawthorn Life Insurance Company until 1993 and continued to serve as a consultant for the company until his death. He was a long time and faithful member of the First United Methodist Church of Carthage where he served on the Administrative Board and many building committees. Mr. Osborne was the church treasurer at the time of his death. He was a member of the Carthage Rotary Club for over thirty years and before retirement, devoted time to the Texas Association of Life Insurance Officials. Mr. Osborne spent a lifetime loving the outdoors enjoying many hobbies such as bass fishing and quail hunting. For twenty years, he served as the President of Dixie Lake Inc. Mr. Osborne married Alice Hawthorn in 1968. In, 1996, Mr. Osborne helped establish Don Lipsey Funeral Home a locally owned and operated business in Carthage, Texas. Mr. Osborne passed away on June 26, 1997 at the age of 89.


Mr and Mrs. Osborne helped thousands of families during their extensive careers in the funeral business. We are certainly proud to say that they were our dearest friends and have shaped and molded our Family's business throughout the years. They were the finest people we ever knew.

Jimerson History

John Delmer "J.D." Jimerson was born on December 15, 1917, in Clayton, Texas, to John Lester and Lois Duke Jimerson, a pioneer Panola County family. He attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas and later studied his post-graduate work at Utah State University, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Mississippi, and Louisiana State University. He served our country in the United States Marine Corps. He was a Master Technical Sergeant and served 25 months in the South Pacific during World War II. He returned to Panola County in 1950, where he established Jimerson Insurance and Real Estate. He married Bernice Davis, and together they had five children: Phil Jimerson, Johna Jimerson Peyton, Judy Jimerson Hale, Jane Jimerson Adamson, and LeAnn Jimerson Williams. In 1966, Mr. Jimerson and his family established Restland Memorial Park near Carthage, and in 1978, they built Jimerson Funeral Home on the Longview Highway to better serve the families of the community in their time of need. The funeral home facility, over 10,500 square feet in size, has served as a formal place of bereavement for Panola County families since its inception. Mr. Jimerson served on the Board of Directors for the Texas Cemetery Association. He became an active community leader where he served as the director of the Camp Fire Girls Association, a member of the Panola County Industrial Foundation, and a leader of the Cub and Boy Scouts of America. He was a member of Central Baptist Church of Carthage, where he served as a deacon for 30 years and was a member of the sanctuary choir. Mr. Jimerson passed away on August 3, 1989 at the age of 71.

Man in a suit and tie, looking forward with a serious expression.
Portraits of Don and Sallie Lipsey. Don in suit, smiling. Sallie smiling in striped blouse, earrings.

Lipsey History

In February of 1972, Don and Sallie Lipsey came to work for Mark and Alice Hawthorn Osborne in their funeral business in Panola County. In 1975, Don and Sallie were able to purchase the funeral home from the Osborne’s. As their business grew, their family did the same with the addition of two children: their daughter, Hillary, in 1975 and their son, Stuart, in 1980. Both children became involved in the family business. In 1994, the Lipsey's sold the business to Prime Succession Inc., a nationwide funeral home conglomerate. Don Lipsey Funeral Home was established in 1996 and was soon known to the public as the only family-owned and operated funeral home in the area. After 9 years of operation, the Lipsey Family experienced growing pains and was given the opportunity to purchase Jimerson Funeral Home, an established business with a larger facility and a more convenient location for their families. This funeral home was purchased from the Alderwoods Group, another nationwide funeral home conglomerate.
After extensive remodeling of the interior and exterior of the Jimerson facility, the Jimerson-Lipsey Funeral Home was formed in the summer of 2005. We are proud to say that we are still privately, independently, locally owned and operated.