Those wishing to mourn the loss of retired Las Cruces Police Department officer J.R. Stewart may do so Saturday morning by lining the sidewalks along Picacho Avenue or Solano Drive where the full police honors funeral procession will pass.
Funeral services will be held beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church at 100 S. Espina St. However, space inside the church is very limited.
The funeral procession will be the best time for the general public to show their support and mourn the loss of Stewart, who served 35 years with the Las Cruces Police Department.
The procession will begin at about 8 a.m. Saturday at Baca’s Funeral Home, at 300 E. Boutz Rd. It will proceed east to El Paseo Road, north on El Paseo which turns into Alameda Boulevard and then east on Picacho Avenue.
On Picacho Avenue, the funeral procession will come to a brief stop in front of the Las Cruces Police Department, at 217 E. Picacho Ave., where several officers are expected to salute their fallen comrade.
The procession will resume east on Picacho which turns into Spruce Avenue, south on Solano Drive, west on Griggs Avenue and then south on Espina to St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church.
The best viewing of the funeral procession will be from the sidewalk along Picacho near the Third Judicial District Court building, from the sidewalk near Albert Johnson Park and from the sidewalks along Solano Drive between Spruce and Griggs.
Mourners are strongly encouraged to remain on the sidewalk and refrain from stepping onto the roadways. Motorists traveling in the opposite direction of the procession are asked to safely pull to the side of the roadway and wait for the procession to pass.
The procession is expected to arrive at St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church before 8:30 a.m. Parking at the church is limited, and intended for those in the procession and mourners who are attending the funeral mass. Interment, with military honors, will take place at St. Joseph Cemetery immediately following the funeral mass. Residents in surrounding neighborhoods should be aware that a three-volley salute will be heard during the interment services.
Information from Las Cruces Police