Mrs. Aileene Camille Maldonado

Mrs. Aileene Camille Maldonado passed away Sunday, August 3, 2014, at Central Mississippi Medical Center. She was born June 10, 1940 in New York, NY. Aileene moved to Jackson with her son in 1973. Aileene was devoted to her son Michael and grandson Garrett. Her life’s passion was animals and educating the public about animals, our responsibility to respect them, treat them with love and kindness. Aileene started her love affair with animals as a child with family pets. As a young mother, her interest grew to include exotic animals and this led to a volunteer position at the Bronx Zoo in New York. She accomplished so many firsts in the animal field and opened doors for many who came into animal welfare work behind her. Aileene was the first female zoo keeper in Mississippi going to work at the Jackson Zoo shortly after moving to Jackson. She worked the children’s zoo, hoof stock and her favorite, primates. She was the first female animal control officer in our state, she started the first wildlife education program taking native wildlife into the schools where thousands of kids always remembered “Miss Aileene” and her animals. Aileene, with a group of volunteers started the first pet therapy program, taking dogs from the MARL shelter and City shelter to the State Hospital at Whitfield. She set up kennels at the MS School for the Blind and Deaf and taught the students to care for and train the animals to use for therapy. MS Pet Therapy turned into a much larger organization called Horses for Handicapped. She started this all volunteer group to reach out to handicapped kids in Central Mississippi. For 35 years, over 1500 kids each April have a chance to ride a horse, take old fashion wagon rides and just have a day of fun. Dogs and cats held a special place in her heart and when she left the zoo, she became the first female animal control officer in Mississippi. She strongly believed anyone working with animals should lead by example and she found lack of training and knowledge about animals in the animal control field missing. Her next project was forming the Mississippi Animal Control and Protection Association to bring together animal welfare workers and animal control officers presenting training classes to bring professionalism to the field. Aileene served a two year tenure as the executive director of the Humane Society of South Mississippi but returned to Jackson to take a position with the Mississippi Animal Rescue League (MARL) where she finished her career after eighteen years. She loved the Mississippi Animal Rescue League and promoted their animals and their mission to anyone who would listen. For years her dream had been to have a summer camp for kids and after moving into a new large building, Aileene’s first Critter Camp became a reality. That day she had more fun than the children. She blazed the trail for so many in the animal welfare field. She had a huge heart and a huge voice for animal welfare. Aileene is survived by her son, Michael Maldonado of Byram, two brothers, Bill and Mark Garrett both of Tennessee. She is also survived by her grandson, Garrett Payne Maldonado, an aunt and several cousins and her beloved dog, Sassy. Michael and Garrett were her heart and she will be missed by all who knew her. Visitation will be 5:00 to 8:00 pm Tuesday, August 5, 2014 and 10:00 am until the 11:00 am funeral service Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at Chancellor Funeral Home in Byram. Interment will follow at Lakewood Memorial Park on Clinton Blvd. Family request memorials go to the Mississippi Animal Rescue League at 5221 Greenway Dr. Ext., Jackson, MS 39204. On line guest book available at www.chancellorfuneralhome.com