Dr. Robert W. ‘Bob’ Jackson, 13 Jul 1930 – 25 Oct 2012
JACKSON, BRITTON, HAACK, GRAYSON
Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 11/1/2012 at 16:34:46
Robert Jackson, 85
Funeral services for Dr. Robert W. “Bob” Jackson, 82, Springfield, Ill., will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Bisch Funeral Home West, Springfield. He died Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012, at St. John’s Hospice, Springfield.
Burial will be in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, with military honors by the Inter-Veterans Burial Detail of Sangamon County.
Memorials may be made to the SIU School of Medicine Foundation.
Online condolences may be left at www.bischfuneralhomewest.com .
Dr. Robert W. Jackson was born July 13, 1930, in Coolidge, Ariz., the son of William and Betty (Britton) Jackson.
He married Carolyn Ann Haack March 27, 1961, in Williamsburg. As a young man, he put his studies aside in his third year of college to volunteer in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After returning to his studies, he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and received his doctorate from Purdue University in 1963. He became a full professor of microbiology and immunology at Southern Illinios University, Cardondale, Ill., and played an instrumental role in the founding of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, ultimately serving as executive associate dean until retiring in 1998.
His interests were many. He was a model railroader extraordinaire and helped to found the National Association of S Gaugers in the 1960s. He played an active role as well in the Springfield area model railroaders’ Once-a-Month Club. His own model railroad layout had been featured in many national publications and has been the inspiration of boys and men for decades.
He was a member of the Springfield Motor Boat Club, where he enjoyed taking his grandsons fishing and boating. He was an avid reader, stargazer and music aficionado, especially of classical and jazz.
He also toured his BMW motorcycle to California or the East coast many times during the summer. In earlier years he once drove his beloved ‘51 Hudson from San Jose to Baltimore in 54 hours.
He often said “I couldn’t have had a better life,” for he was always aware of his great good fortune – a loving and dedicated family, a meaningful career and lifelong, loyal, caring friends. Known for his generosity and compassion, he possessed an uncanny ability to recognize what others needed, even when they didn’t recognize it themselves. He was revered by his family and friends alike as an advisor and mentor.
Jackson is survived by his wife; two sons, Brian L. Jackson, Springfield and Timm W. and Emma Jackson, West Charleston, Vt.; one grandson, Todd M. Jackson, Springfield; several nieces, nephews and cousins and honorary grandsons, James, John, Patrick and Elijah Grayson, Virden.
He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers.
The Williamsburg Journal Tribune, Iowa County Obituaries – 01 Nov 2012, pg 11
Bisch Funeral Home West
Iowa Obituaries maintained by Steve Williams.
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