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Emerson and Son Funeral Home, 1629 East Nettleton Avenue, Jonesboro, Arkansas operated a busy ambulance service. This picture was taken in early 1970 in front of the old funeral home at 1629 East Nettleton Road. The ambulance is a 1968 Chevrolet Suburban truck converted into a low-roof emergency vehicle by Billy Joe Emerson (1929-2011) himself. It operated as Unit 8. I really liked making calls in this ambulance!

In 2007, the Emerson Funeral Home, one of the very few funeral home still associated with an ambulance service, celebrated its 75th anniversary in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The firm was started by W.T. (Tom) Emerson and his brother-in-law, Homer Burns, in 1932. The original location was on South Church Street in downtown Jonesboro. In March 1951, Emerson & Son Funeral Home moved to the above location at 1629 East Nettleton Road, Jonesboro. W.T. Emerson died in 1977. Billy Joe Emerson's son, Toby, joined the firm officially in 1979 after graduating from the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science. For many years prior to that, he rode out on many ambulance calls with his dad and this author, Dr. Jim Moshinskie, and was excellent help. The ambulance service became a separate business officially in 1973 as Emerson Ambulance Service and is the oldest operating ambulance service in Arkansas. Today it has eight ambulances, two wheelchair vans, and 45 employees. Rick Carter, who has been with the firm 25 years, serves as the funeral home manager. The new 500-seat chapel opened in 1996.


The white ambulance is shown in front of the funeral home with Jim Moshinskie, right, and Larry Russel, left, waiting for their next call. The vehicle included a loud(!) Federal Q2 siren, four flashing red lights on the front, and a clear rotating beaconray with red and white beams. People could see -- and hear -- us coming!

The Q2 Roar!
In the days before OSHA decided that Federal Q2 sirens on the roof were a health hazard to our ears, we actually rolled down the windows on the ambulance so we could hear the power of the coasting Q2 as it shooed vehicles off the road ahead. Unfortunately, many ambulance drivers of those days are now deaf in their left ear thanks to the Q2 roar!

My only complaint about the Q2 was that it froze up quickly in freezing rain, thankfully this was a rare event in northeast Arkansas. I remember one day making an accident call during a sleet storm with Toby and Steve Emerson, BJ's sons who were young kids back then. We kept a pot of boiling water on the stove ready for calls to keep unfreezing the Q2, so half way to the scene I stopped the ambulance and young Steve Emerson (now a Jonesboro physician) jumped out and poured hot water over the siren so we could keep blowing it until we reached the scene!

Another reason why we often rolled down the windows was that the emergency lights and siren consumed so much power, we opted not to turn on the air conditioner so as to save the battery - It would be embarrasing to have a dead battery at the accident site.

Way Different Than Today's EMS, But Still Effective
This was three years before the days of EMTs and paramedics -- but under Billy Joe Emerson's training and guidance, we ran a very fine emergency ambulance service that really cared about our patients and their care. When the first EMT Class was taught in Jonesboro in 1972, the entire Emerson staff attended and passed with flying colors!

The goal was to get rolling fast on a call, especially to beat our competitor funeral homes to the scene. I was very proud of the years I spent at Emerson & Son Funeral Home. Back then we had a small staff and Billy Joe and Betty Emerson treated us like family. They were great people.

A Young Toby Emerson Rode With Us
Sometimes a very young Toby Emerson rode with us on emergency calls. Now he runs Emerson Ambulance Service which still proudly serves Craighead County. Bill Brown, a RN - Paramedic, also started his long ambulance career in Jonesboro during this time.

Launched My Career in EMS and Funeral Service
Working at Emerson's launched my funeral home and ambulance career. I started in October 1969 and I left there in mid-1972 to join the staff of very busy Griffin-Leggett Funeral Home in Little Rock where I worked 8 years. I then taught at the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science for four years before moving to Waco, Texas. Toby Emerson was in the first class I taught at Dallas Institute. In Waco, I was Executive Director of Daniel EMS for 8 years and I established the first paramedic-level ambulance service there. During this time, I finished a PhD at Texas A&M University in Health Education. I then taught paramedics and EMTs throughout central Texas through the Texas A&M College of Medicine. In 1996, I joined the faculty of Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business and also became President / CEO of the Higginbotham Funeral Homes. I retired from Baylor in 2006 and I

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I had this idea a couple of days ago and decided to go capture it today. I really like the way it turned out. I hadn't originally planned to take the black and white approach, but since there wasn't much sun at all today I figured a colored shot might not turn out as vivid as I would like. The "Willingham" on the bench is probably my favorite part of this photo; it came out super sharp looking.

For those of you who don't know, this is where my grandfather is buried. He will always hold a special place in my heart considering I spent a large amount of time with him growing up. He was an amazing man and a paragraph of me writing about him could not even begin to do his life story justice. He got to do some amazing things with his life such as working for a successful accounting firm and teaching at The University of Houston and The University of Texas.

When I drove over near his headstone I didn't know exactly where it was, but I trusted my wonderful memory and was able to get close with the car. Within seconds of walking around I walked right up to it. I was surprised I had found it that quick because I hadn't been there since the funeral. It was nice to be there and I plan on coming back sometime when its warmer and bringing him some nice flowers.

John Joseph Willingham
March 29, 1935 - April 19, 2006

Love you and miss you Pa,

Jared