Our staff provides excellent funeral planning services.
We have years of experience caring for families from all walks of life, cultures and faiths. Our unsurpassed staff and our family provide kind, caring, professional service. Each family comes to us because they know we are leaders in our profession who are dedicated to excellence in service, adhere to the highest funeral industry standards, and have exceptional integrity. We consistently earn phenomenally high customer satisfaction survey results.
Our licensed, professional staff is here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please call 209-838-7321 anytime. We will even come to you to make arrangements in the comfort of your home.
Prompt, compassionate service is always just a phone call away, where and when you need it.
Ashley Vella
Managing Partner
Ashley was born and raised in Modesto, California; she attended Modesto High, Modesto Junior College and finished her education at California State University, Stanislaus, earning her Bachelor's degree in Forensic Anthropology. Ashley comes from a farming background in West County Modesto in the Wood Colony area, where her family has farmed almonds for three generations.Ashley was brand new to the funeral industry when she started at Franklin & Downs Funeral Home in May of 2012. Previously, she interned at the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office working as an autopsy tech. She also coached competitive gymnastics for ten years prior to joining Franklin & Downs. In March 2015, Ashley took the position of Managing Partner for Deegan Funeral Chapels in Escalon and Ripon.
Ashley and her husband Cody have two children, Logan and Dylan. Together, they live in Modesto and enjoy camping, fishing, and spending time with family and friends.
Jack & Joanne Deegan
Ambassador
Former owner of Deegan Funeral ChapelJack, a resident of Ripon and Escalon, moved to Escalon in 1953 when his parents purchased the funeral home in Escalon. In Escalon, he attended Dent Elementary School and Escalon High School. He went to Cal Berkeley and then transferred to San Francisco College of Mortuary Science, obtaining his funeral director and embalming licenses and graduating in 1962. Jack worked for about five years at a funeral home in Modesto and then started working with his dad in Escalon in 1968. In 1975, when his dad retired, Jack purchased the funeral home in Escalon. In 1988, Jack purchased the funeral home in Ripon. In May 2002, he sold both of the funeral homes so that he could enjoy retirement, but he continues to work some of the services with us.
Jessica Campos
Funeral Director
Jessica grew up in Manteca most of her life and recently moved to Ripon. She attended Sierra High School then majored in Business Management at California State University, Stanislaus. She grew up surrounded by music and now directs the Youth Mass Music Ministry and the Spanish Music Ministry at St. Anthony’s in Manteca. She plays the piano and sings for the English and Spanish masses on weekends, alongside with her family. Jessica has been in the funeral industry since August 2011. She began singing for funerals on the side, and shortly after, she was offered a part-time job at the mortuary. She eventually developed a passion for the industry and truly wanted to help grieving families. In July 2014, she earned her Funeral Director’s license.
Nick Valdes
Funeral Assistant
Erica Campos
Funeral Assistant
Holly Strickland-Barragan
Advanced Planning Agent
Brandon Pacariem
Funeral Assistant / Student Intern
Carol Bauman
Funeral Assistant
Carol was born in "house on the prairie" country,
the plains of Kansas. Her family moved to California when she was ten where she
has remained in the Modesto and Ripon area. After graduating from Grace Davis High
School and Modesto Junior College, she was a legal secretary with the
Stanislaus County District Attorney's office for a time. From 1986 until 2016
Carol was employed with Ripon's long-established medical family practice
office, now Ripon Family Physicians. There she engaged in axillary patient
care, staff management, and business assistance; support and advocacy. Since
June 2017 Carol is a part time Funeral Assistant with Deegan Chapels in Ripon
and Escalon. She has volunteered with Modesto Pregnancy Center and currently in
various ministries with Ripon Grace Church. Carol was married to Richard Bauman
for 45 years until he was called home in 2014.
Their son, Greg and his wife, Lisa, live in Ripon. Greg is a Battalion
Chief, Ripon Fire Department, and Lisa is an Activity Director at Bethany Home
Skilled Nursing Facility. We are grateful for our Ripon home and for active
participation in community care.
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