Joe Eagan

Embracing His Family’s Legacy

JOE EAGAN IS THE FIRST to say that he enteredthe family business somewhat reluctantly when hewas 15.

When Hurricane Katrina struck, Leitz-EaganFuneral Home wasn’t damaged. “My father neededany help he could find,” says Eagan. “So I began tohelp maintain the grounds and change light-bulbs.”Fast forward to today.That somewhat-reluctant-to-work in-a-funeralhometeen is now 29 years old, a sixth-generationfuneral director and manager of three metro NewOrleans properties and Grace Funeral Home and St.Lazarus of Bethany Memorial Garden in Covington.And yes, he still changes lightbulbs.“It’s (funeral service) never monotonous—there’s always a new experience or operationalchallenge to work through,” Eagan points out, “andI can’t imagine that I would have the same rewardingexperiences if I were doing something else.”

In 1864, Eagan’s great-great-great-grandfather,Ambrose Leitz, a German immigrant, opened a cabinet shop in New Orleans. He also made coffins, and the shop evolved into the oldest and largest family-managed funeral home and life insurance companies in New Orleans, with three funeral homes and three insurance companies. While the flagstone funeral home at Magazine and Phillip closed in 1992, locations in Metairie and Marrero continue.

In 2019, Leitz-Eagan celebrated its 165th year, making it one of the older continuously operating funeral homes in the country. It’s a legacy that Eagan is proud to embrace. “While working in the business during high school, I soon began to appreciate not only the legacy and significance of my family’s business, but also the value of providing sincere care to families after the passing of a loved one.”

In 2005, the Leitz-Eagan Companies was under the ownership of the Alderwoods Group. In 2006, Service Corporation International acquired Alderwoods, and later opened a funeral home in Metairie.

Eagan says, “I began to take much interest in the business, as well as the operational aspect of the company.” After graduating from Louisiana State University, he began his funeral directing apprenticeship and enrolled in the University of New Orleans’ MBA program. In 2014, then-24-year-old Eagan was offered the opportunity to manage SCI’s three metro New Orleans properties.

Today, Eagan oversees both Leitz-Eagan funeral homes as well as H.C. Alexander Funeral Home in Norco and Grace Funeral Home and St. Lazarus of Bethany Memorial Garden in Covington. “I’ve grown quite a bit in the past five years—both professionally and personally. The experience of operating three funeral homes, as well as the new business on the northshore, has been unique.”

The northshore business, Grace Funeral Home and St. Lazarus of Bethany Memorial Garden, opened in May 2019 and spans more than 50 acres of land leased from the Archdiocese of New Orleans to SCI.

“The archdiocese recognized the need for a Catholic cemetery on the northshore,” Eagan explains. SCI collaborated with the archdiocese and built, maintains and manages the funeral home and cemetery. The project was designed to preserve more than 16 acres of nearby protected wetlands and complement the adjacent Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church and St. Anthony’s Gardens, a senior living ministry of the archdiocese.

Grace Funeral Home, an 8,500-square-foot facility, features a multicultural chapel and visitation and gathering areas. St. Lazarus of Bethany Memorial Garden can accommodate 800 cemetery plots, 300 mausoleum crypts and 200 cremation niches. People of all faiths are welcome to use the facility.

As a lifelong resident of the area, Eagan says, “We bond together during celebratory times and during times of hardship. Often, we find ways to turn times of hardship into celebratory moments. We have planned funerals ranging from crawfish boils to second-line parades. Personalization is a big factor these days.”

There is no question that funeral service has changed in the past 15 years or so. “Most obviously, cremation continues to be a rising trend,” says Eagan. “What remains the same (and hopefully always will) is that we, as funeral professionals, never take our roles lightly. We seek out ways to comfort and serve at every point of our interaction with families and commit to relieving at least some of their burden.

“When my family’s firm began, the business was very much relationship-based. People counted on the ‘undertaker’ for guidance and help more than anything of a tangible nature. I think we’ll see a continued emphasis on relationships going forward.”

It doesn’t take Eagan long to answer when asked where he sees himself in the next five years. “I’d like to continue to grow with our company and work to create strong and sustainable businesses that will be well positioned to serve their communities and clients well into the next generations.”