Veteran in Texas granted funeral director license by judge; support for decision also came from dismissed funeral agency staff.

Texas Judge Recommends Funeral License for Army Veteran Desaray Wilson

In a recent recommendation, Administrative Law Judge Robert Pemberton has proposed that the Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC) grant a funeral director license to Army veteran Desaray Wilson. This decision comes two years after Wilson's license was revoked by the commission.

Wilson, the president and CEO of Baytown Memorial Funeral Home and Cremations, has been a death care provider for over 3,000 service members' bodies during U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Despite his extensive experience, the TFSC made him give up his funeral director license in 2020.

Judge Pemberton's ruling, which is a proposed decision, means that it is now up to the TFSC commissioners to decide whether to proceed according to the ruling or find "good cause" to make a different decision.

The decision to revoke Wilson's license has been a subject of criticism. Former executive directors of the TFSC and other fired staff wrote a strong letter in 2023 urging the commission to restore Wilson's license status, describing the licensing decision as appropriately based on Wilson's military experience. At least three of the six people fired this summer also supported these accusations of unethical behavior and mismanagement within the commission.

Christopher Burnett, a former staff attorney among those fired, echoed these sentiments. He believed that Wilson met every possible criteria for a non-traditional license and found it oppressive that he was asked to surrender his license or face enforcement action.

Bingaman, the former executive director of the TFSC, cited Wilson's case as one of the commission's shortcomings in a letter he wrote to commissioners before his firing. Judge White, another critic of the TFSC, has previously criticized the agency for providing poor legal advice and making it harder for veterans to obtain funeral service licenses.

Judge White also highlighted Wilson's death care experience and argued that granting Wilson a license is consistent with state law, which allows military veterans' service, training, or education to count towards the requirements for getting an occupational license.

The TFSC's decision to nonsuite two of its staff members who were sued for allegedly violating attorney-client privilege by speaking about their firings has further fuelled the controversy surrounding the commission.

Wilson, who has hired a licensed funeral director to run his funeral home, is hopeful that the commission will heed the recommendations of Judge Pemberton and other critics and grant him his funeral director license. The TFSC's decision is expected soon.