JACKSON Joseph William "Bill Joe" Jackson, age 85, former New Orleans, LA resident, died peacefully at his home Sunday, October 14th, 2007 in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida after a long illness. Mr. Jackson was born October 26th, 1921, in Houston, Texas. A graduate of Louisiana State University, he held degrees in psychology and journalism and was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and was a member of the Avoca Duck Club. Mr. Jackson was a third generation Houstonian. He served in both World War II in the tank corps and the Korean War as an instructor and pilot. Shortly after his discharge, he began his newspaper career with the Lake Charles American Press. His professional career was in both the petroleum and publishing fields. At the time of his death, he co-owned the Roswell Daily Record in Roswell, New Mexico. He is survived by his wife, Virginia Shearman Jackson; his son, James Kirk Jackson of Aspen, CO; daughter and son-in-law, Brady and Katherine Fitzsimmons of Red Lodge, MT; grandchildren: Lauren Gale Jackson and Sayer Brooke Jackson of Aspen, CO, and Paul William Gregory, Patrick Lyman Gregory and Virginia Ruth Gregory of Covington, LA; his sister and brother-in-law, Mary Ellen and Leslie Guinn of Ann Arbor, MI and sister, Margaret Harrison of Austin, TX, and seventeen nieces and nephews. Mr. Jackson was preceded in death by his brother, Thomas Hardy Jackson, Jr. of Atherton, CA and his father and mother, Thomas Hardy Jackson, Sr. of Jackson, MS. A private Memorial Service will be held near his home in Florida and he will be interred in the columbarium at Christ the King Episcopal Church, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Memorials may be made to Emerald Coast Hospice of Crestview, FL (850) 689-0300 or to the Caduceus Society Emerald Coast, Miramar Beach, Florida, (850) 278-3700. Emerald Coast Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Published in The Times-Picayune on 10/17/2007.