72.7 F
Ocala
Thursday, March 28, 2024

William (Bill) A. Jackson, Sr.

William (Bill) A. Jackson, Sr. died in hospice in Ocala, Florida after suffering complications from a stroke. He was 93 and still lived in his own home in the Ocala National Forest. Our father loved God, family, and his country. He greatly valued education and nature.

He was born on Columbus Day 1927 in Providence, Rhode Island and grew up beside Narragansett Bay. He had a great love of boats and the sea. He enlisted in the Navy during World War II and was assigned to aircraft carriers. During his service, he earned the American Theatre Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

Our father was an electrical engineer and at the beginning of his career at IBM, which started in 1955, he managed the installation of mainframes involved in the nation’s air defense. His career at IBM spanned the era of the mainframe until the early years of the personal computer.

William Jackson married Margaret Ann Von Schmittou and they had six children.

Like a true Rhode Islander, his favorite ice cream flavor was coffee, drizzled with the family’s fudge recipe.

Our father loved the Adirondack Mountains in New York and his children have wonderful memories of many camping trips throughout the year.  Family camping trips at Long Lake, for instance, were punctuated with bears raiding the food supplies. Once a bear pushed a canoe anchored in the middle of a lake to the shore to feast in the moonlight.

In his retirement, our father summered at his camp within the Diamond Sportsmen’s Club located in the Adirondacks and lived in the Ocala National Forest during the winter. He was an avid reader and kep a reading log, noting what he read and how many pages.  His entries stopped Dec. 23.

When he was in the Ocala National Forest, our father would travel 40 miles one way to attend the Latin Mass at Queen of Peace Church. He loved the Latin Mass and had a great devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. He was a faithful Catholic and supported the Church. He also helped the poor in Tanzania, Africa through the charitable organization of Children of Hope and Faith.

William Jackson is survived by his 6 children, 17 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren: Jane Ann Walsh, her husband Michael, their two children: Kathleen Mitchell and Andrew Walsh, and three grandchildren; Olivia, Luke and Jacob ; William A. Jackson Jr., his wife Nancy, and their four children Daniel Jackson, Elizabeth Jackson, Hannah Jackson and Rebecca Jackson; Patricia Guenzler, her husband Monte, Pat’s three children Michelle Arends, Michael Arends, and Steven Arends and three grandchildren Gavin, Cleo, and Jonah,; Mary Jackson, her husband Adel and their three children Sarah Dwider, Farris Dwider and Yusef Dwider; Peggy Olson, her three children Elijah Olson, Luke Olson, Hannah Olson; and Constance Spoth, her two children Meghan Spoth and Matthew Spoth and one grandchild Arya.