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NATCHEZ — For James T. and Sharon West, West Gate Funeral Home is not simply one of the family’s businesses. It’s a ministry.

That ministry is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and on Nov. 26 at Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, a celebration was held to honor the families West Gate has served this year — Nov. 1, 2022, through Oct. 31, 2023. Among other honors, Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson presented the Wests with the Key to the City.

The theme for the West family for this anniversary year is the “Goodness of God.”

Trusting in God 

The evidence of the work and goodness of God shows in almost every aspect of the West family’s life.

George F. West Sr. began West Funeral Home in 1951 and operated it with the strong help of his wife, Artimese, until his death n 1981. The couple had six sons and one daughter. James is the youngest of those sons.

After West Sr.’s death, James’ brother, Theodore “Bubba” West operated the funeral home until it closed in 2008.

Sweethearts at North Natchez High School, James and Sharon married in May 1980, in the historic Mazique-West House at 407 Martin Luther King St., built in 1854. The house, located next door to West Gate Funeral Home, was once the home of Bubba West. James and Sharon now own it and recently completed its renovation. They plan to offer it as an event space.

“It took me nine years to buy that house. Someone else owned it,” James said.

The West family has been a strong leader in the Natchez community for decades. West Sr. ran for alderman at-large in 1968 and was defeated. He ran again in 1972, and was elected as the first Black alderman in Natchez since Reconstruction.

When West Sr. died in 1981, his wife, Artimese, was appointed to fill his term, becoming the first Black female alderwoman ever to serve in Natchez.

When West Funeral Home closed, it had a disturbing effect on James and Sharon West.

“I have been a licensed insurance agent since 1980 and Sharon has been a licensed beautician since 1980,” West said. “Our testimony is that once the business closed, we wouldn’t even ride down the street. We didn’t want to see the building boarded up. We would turn around and go down another street so we wouldn’t have to pass by it.

“One day, God laid it on my heart and told me to open it up. I went in the back and put my hand on the wall — and I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the same place my father had his photo taken with his hand on the wall. I told God right then, if this is what you want me to do, make a way,” James said.

“At that time, I was developing a subdivision and I had 40 acres left. A few days later, I got a phone call from a guy who asked me, ‘Do you still have those 40 acres left?’ I told, ‘Yeah, I do.’ That shows you how God works. And I went home and told my wife, ‘We might lose everything we’ve got. What do you think?’ ”

“He asked me how I felt about it and I told him, if it’s what you want to do, we will do it,” Sharon said.

“I never worried about it,” James said. “The motivation for me was I wanted to bury my mother from a place she had worked all of her life. And, if I buried my mother and it closed the next day, that would be fine. I will have buried my mother.”

That’s exactly what happened.

The Wests planned to open West Gate in June 2013, but as often happens with new business ventures, they weren’t quite ready.

However, his mother died on July 4, 2013.

“My sister-in-law came to me and said, ‘Are you ready?’

West Gate’s first funeral was that of Artimese West on July 13, 2013.

“Surely, my mother wasn’t on her death bed waiting for me,” James said. “We didn’t need a grand opening. Artimese West was our grand opening.”

“Once I met James and we started dating in high school, I started working with his mother in the flower shop, which was located in the funeral home,” Sharon said. “Never in a million years did I think we would be running the funeral home.”

A family tragedy shook the Wests to their core in 2008 when they lost their 27-year-old son, J.T. West Jr.

“James and I were talking about this the other night,” she said. “When we lost our son in 2008, it was unbearable. And it almost tore my husband up. I remember going to bed that night and telling the Lord I just could not bury my son. But when I woke up the next morning, the Lord had said to me, ‘Yeah, you’re going to bury him.’ I couldn’t just give up because I had two daughters to live for and it was like the Lord said. I knew that yeah, I could bury him and we would continue to keep living.

“I knew James’ heart and to lose the funeral home after such a time, it was like he wanted us here in this ministry to help people.”

The Wests are also the parents of two daughters, Brittney West Patten and Christen West.

The West Gate to Heaven

When the Wests were preparing to name their funeral home, they found a way to tie the family name with the God they serve.

“We didn’t want to lose the West. We came up with the 12 gates to the City of Heaven,” James said. “And they are divided in the north, south, east and west.

“My wife said, ‘You can’t tell people you can take them to heaven.’ I told her ‘no, I’m going to tell them we can take them to the gate. From there, they’re on your own!’”

West, who grew up in his father’s funeral home, said much has changed in the funeral business.

“One of the major changes has been in the rise of cremations,” he said. “Back then, cremations were almost taboo, especially in the Black community.”

Another change has been to make funerals more of a celebration.

“When I was young, funerals were so sad. You would go to the wake. You had closed curtains. You had to sit there. You couldn’t talk. You couldn’t smile. You couldn’t do anything,” James said. “We actually have our own choir. We do videos. There are lots of other ways to celebrate the life of your loved one and have a meaningful service about that person’s life.

“A good example is my brother Eddie,” he said. Eddie West was a golf enthusiast and led the Harvest Golf Club here.

“After his service, his daughter and my nephew hit golf balls,” West said.

Another change is no longer are Blacks and white destined for different funeral homes.

“I just think it’s the times we live in. It’s almost like church. There were white churches and Black churches. Not so much anymore. The times have changed and that’s part of life, part of the growth cycle,” he said. “When I think color, I think about kids. Little kids don’t see color. They just see their little friends.”

A legacy of caring

“When I watched my father run his funeral home, it was about caring for people and taking care of people at the very vulnerable moments of their lives. Now, I think for some, it’s just a business. For us, it’s a ministry. When it’s a ministry, you look at it differently,” West said.

“My father taught me everybody is somebody. My mother taught me compassion. My father always treated other people like he wanted to be treated. And my mother-in-law, Laura Jackson … She just loved everybody. She was just kind,” he said.

Sharon worked in the funeral home until 2020, when COVID hit and she had to care for her mother.

She returned in 2022.

“I work in the funeral business now, but not so much in the funeral services. I am here taking care of other things,” Sharon said.

West Gate employs four full-time employees and 15 part-time employees. They perform more than 120 funeral services a year.

“Our testimony and our theme for this 10th year is the Goodness of God. He will order your steps. If you take one step, he will take two,” James said.

“We love Natchez. It is our home. We love the area that we are in. All the neighbors here, right across the street, we keep our places clean. We want to beautify the area and take pride in doing so. We want to be part of this downtown.

“We would also like to thank the community for their prayers and their support.”