East Texas Quarterly Magazine Spring 2014 | Page 23

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization planning and employee training and equipment.
(NPHCO) is marking the 50th anniversary of hospice
care in the United States. The first U.S. hospice was LAH is a non-profit 501©(3) entity, which relies on
started in 1964 in Connecticut.
donations of time and funds from the community it
serves.
LAH began in 1994 as a cooperative effort among
individuals from the First United Methodist Church, LAH now serves 12 counties (Jasper, Newton, Sabine,
Jasper Memorial Hospital (now Christus Jasper Tyler, Hardin, Polk, San Augustine, Angelina, Shelby,
Memorial) and the former Dickerson Memorial Panola, Orange, and Jefferson County) and has
Hospital who recognized the need for hospice care in contracts with three area hospitals.
Jasper and the surrounding area.
The home at 254 Ethel St., which serves as the office
In July of 1993 Clifford M. Lee, pastor of First for LAH, was a family residence purchased in May of
United Methodist Church, made the announcement 1994 with funds donated to Lakes Area Hospice by
that with a grant from the T.L.L. Temple Foundation Roger and Jane Hall. The building has seven rooms,
the community would be able to coordinate with two baths, and a partially floored attic. The residence
other caring agencies and open Jasper’s first (and was built in the 1940’s and the neighborhood is
only) not-for-profit hospice. The Methodist church comprised of well-maintained, single family
would provide office space for Hospice and use the residences and a small group of individually owned
Henderson House for training volunteers. After an town houses. The First United Methodist Church and
initial six month period, the church anticipated that East Texas Home Health are a block away. The annex,
hospice would secure its own facilities. Also at this formerly a detached carport located in back of the
time an independent board of directors was being house, was recently converted to the conference and
organized, the director and staff were being financial offices through another grant from the T.L.L.
employed, and other organizational activities were Temple Foundation.
taking place. The new name for the program would
be “The Lakes Area Hospice.”
The
LAH
Thrift
Store,
an
active
Arthur Temple helped to found a not-for-profit enterprise in Jasper, began in 1995 in an old
hospice program in Lufkin and felt that Jasper also service station at the corner of Houston and Wheeler
needed a hospice program. He was instrumental in a building donated by the heirs of the First State
in providing a grant for operational seed money Bank in Jasper. Later, the shop moved to a location on
through the T.L.L. Temple Foundation. Hospice in the South Main, in the former 1St State Bank offices.
Pines in Lufkin provided assistance in organizational After hurricane Rita the thrift store moved to a
small building on Water
Street., near East Texas
Support Services, and to
a location on Highway 96,
north of town. The thrift
store recently moved to
363 West Houston, the
former location of Stamps
Office Supply and ShyBee
Electric.

The Hope Family Clowns travel around to nursing homes, assisted living centers, churches
and civic clubs spreading hope and joy

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East Texas Quarterly

The Hope Family is
another aspect of the many
services provided by LAH.
Established in 2009 by
Volunteer
Coordinator,
Beverly Jones and Marketer,
Sallie Brown, the Hope
Family consists of LAH
volunteers
who
love
to make clowns out of
themselves and serve
the community through

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