Alberta Jácome kept going and going — and going.
"She was the original Energizer Bunny," son Henry Jácome said of his mother, who died Dec. 28 at age 95 of chronic heart failure. "My mother was one who always wanted to volunteer and help people."
Alberta Jácome, who hadn't come close to losing her wits, according to friends and family members, was once part of a strong group of Tucson socialites who established organizations and programs that are still alive today.
Old-timers know the last name well. In a long-gone era, Downtown Tucson was booming, and Jácome's Department Store was at the center of a retail hub that included department stores such as Steinfeld's and Levy's.
Alberta Jácome's husband, Henry Jácome, and his siblings ran the store for years. But Alberta, an Indiana native who met Henry while she was a buyer at rival J.C. Penney in the 1930s, never worked in the store, her son said. Instead, her talents landed elsewhere in the community.
People are also reading…
"She fell in love with a fellow retailer, and they made sweet music together," son Henry Jácome said. "But Mom gave up retailing."
She took up everything else: organizing volunteers at St. Mary's and St. Joseph's hospitals, working with others to found the Newman Catholic Student Center on the University of Arizona campus, and planning Christmas festivals at Salpointe Catholic High School.
"She was very active," said friend and Tucson legend Esther Tang, who introduced President Bill Clinton when he visited Tucson in 1999. "She was always eager to chair something. It's a sad thing to lose her. Tucson certainly will miss Alberta."
Son Henry, daughter Nicha Campbell and Alberta Jácome's seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren will especially miss her.
"She lived a lovely, long life," Henry Jácome said. "Her warm smile and her enthusiasm will live forever."
Her death is also an end of an era for the family — and for Tucson, he said. Even though his mother didn't run the once-famous Tucson store, she represented what was left of a time period that Downtown revitalization efforts won't be able to being back.
In 2004, Alberta Jácome cut the ribbon during the dedication of Jácome Plaza, in front of the Joel D. Valdez Main Library. That was the final location of Jácome's Department Store before the family closed up shop in 1980 as Tucson sprawled and shopping malls were the new game in town.
Still, his family wasn't bitter, Henry Jácome said.
"She loved the mall," he said of his mother.
And in her later years, she didn't mind a trip to the casino.
"She had a walker, but if I said we were going to the casino, she could run a 50-yard dash. Her eyes would light up," her son said.
But that just indicated her positive attitude, he said.
"She wanted to stay through Christmas with us," Henry Jácome said. "She was a real fighter."
A memorial Mass celebrating Alberta Jácome's life will begin at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 1946 E. Lee St. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Newman Catholic Student Center.
Obituary
Vacant Tucson stores could transform into new housing
