Our People 

Jon Charles Thomas (1939-2013)

Jon was a founding director and a significant guiding force for everyone at Heritage.  

Jon was born in Uniontown, PA, served in the US Army from 1957 to 1965 and became a Licensed Funeral Director in 1959. 

 Jon was an Entrepreneur and Philanthropist.  He has been a Licensed Funeral Director since 1959, owning and operating several different funeral homes, cemeteries and cremation businesses.  In 1986 Jon became the Chief Executive Officer of Thomas-Pierce and Company, specializing in sales, acquisitions, mergers, construction, development, marketing, and cash flow management for the funeral and cemetery industries and cremation businesses throughout the United States and Canada.  Since 2004 Jon has owned, along with his wife, Patsy, Forest Meadows Funeral Home and Cemeteries, Moring Funeral Home in Melrose, Evans-Carter Funeral Home in High Springs and A-Direct Cremations in Gainesville and Summerfield and has served as CEO for each company since their acquisition.

 In 1970, Jon was elected to the Florida State House of Representatives and went on to serve in the Florida State Senate until 1978.  Throughout his political career he served on many committees, including Governmental Efficiency Study Commission as its Chairman, Florida Real Estate Commission Education and Research Foundation Advisory Committee, Chairman of Health and Rehabilitative Services Committee, Appropriations Committee, the Commerce Committee and had been a Board Member of the State of Florida Medical Examiner from 2009 until his resignation earlier this month.

 During his lifetime, Jon won many awards, all of which he was so very proud of, with each holding a special meaning to him.  Some of those awards include Young Man of the Year in Fort Lauderdale, 1967;  Legislator of the Year, 1973, 1976, and 1977 by the Florida Association for Retarded Children;      Conservation Legislator – Wildlife Federation and the National Wildlife Federation; Presented the Florida Wildlife Special Service Award, 1977; Recipient of the Leonard L. Abness Human Relations Award, 1978, by the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, and most recently, Rotary Club of Gainesville 2012 Ethics in Business Award.

 Jon was also very active in the Funeral Care Industry.  His professional associations included:   Board Member, Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science;   Florida Funeral Directors Association; National Funeral Directors Association; Florida Cemetery Association; Independent Funeral Directors of Florida; Selected Independent Funeral Directors: Order of the Golden Rule; American Cemetery Association; Southern Cemetery Association; Pre-arrangement Interment Association of America (PIAA).

 Jon was always involved in his community and very committed to his church, wherever he lived.  He served in many civic organizations as: President of the Tallahassee Region Soap Box Derby, Inc.  Tallahassee, Florida; Past Board Member – Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce; Past Chairman- Bay North Homeowners Association; Past Board Member – Goodwill Industries; Past President – Leon High School Cheerleading Association; Past Chairman – Leon High School Foundation. Jon served as member of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, Gainesville Quarterback Club, and Gainesville Rotary Club and attended Trinity United Methodist Church in Gainesville.  Jon also had affiliations with:  Royal Order of Jesters, Tallahassee Court #194; Jackson Lodge #1, F & AM; Keystone Chapter – Royal Arch Masons; Scottish Rite Temple, Tallahassee; Morocco Temple, Ambassador at Large, Jacksonville; and Marzuq Temple, Ambassador at Large, Tallahassee.

 Jon’s success came from ambition, knowledge of business, professionalism and compassion for those he served.  He was admired and respected by his colleagues and employees.  When asked about his accomplishments, he responded “I owe my success to my love and faith in God, and my family.  My family is my most valued reward.”

Robert Doyle 
Director and President

Mr. Doyle has been involved in ownership, operations and consulting for startups, mergers and acquisitions for the last 25 years.   Bob’s experience in the funeral business began in 1991 with the Loewen Group where he was Manager of Corporate Development.  While Bob moved on from Loewen prior to its implosion in the late 90's, the experience gained acquiring funeral operations for a large public company has proven invaluable.  In 1995, he joined with Thomas-Pierce and has maintained a close relationship with Jon and the company to this day. Over the last 20 years, Bob  has advised funeral business buyers and sellers, as well as those not selling, and has also been involved in family transfers and long-term family succession plans.  

Mark T. Brown 
Director

Mr. Brown is President of Pacific Opportunity Capital Ltd., a private company which provides financial solutions, equity and management services to small and medium size entrepreneurial enterprises.  His corporate activities include merger and acquisition transactions, financing, strategic corporate planning and corporate development. 

 Prior to joining POC, Mark was with PriceWaterHouseCoopers and held senior financial positions with three public companies with listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange and/or the American Stock and Options Exchange.  Mark is currently a director and/or officer of various public and private companies.

Winnie Wong
Director and Secretary

Winnie Wong received a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Honours) from Queen’s University, articled with Deloitte & Touche and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia.  She is currently Vice President of Pacific Opportunity Capital, managing the financial administration team and assisting on corporate finance projects.  Prior to joining Pacific Opportunity, Ms. Wong was the controller of Pivotal Corporation, a company providing software, services and support to a variety of businesses.  Prior to working at Pivotal Corporation, Ms. Wong worked with Deloitte & Touche, Chartered Accountants.  Ms. Wong acts as the CFO and Corporate Secretary for various private and publicly listed companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange and/or the TSX Venture Exchange.

Glyn Roberts
Corporate Business/Life Coach 

Our group has been involved in family owned businesses for many years and understand the complex nature of the transition from one generation to the next.  One key component of our strategy is to have available a professional corporate coach to assist in setting goals, ensuring quality communications and otherwise helping smooth what can be a very difficult transition.  Also, we don't have any exclusive call on the services that Glyn offers, so anyone that wants to talk to him about helping their team work better, please contact us and we will put you in direct touch with Glyn.  It never hurts to have your team acting like a TEAM!