Obituary of James A. Jackson

With sadness, his family announces the passing of James A. Jackson on April 20, 2023 after a brief illness. 

Born on June 23, 1925 in New York City, Jim grew up on Wagner Avenue in Mamaroneck, attending the Mamaroneck Methodist Church and rising to the rank of Eagle in the Boy Scouts. He graduated from Bellows High School in 1943, then served in the US Army, from which he was honorably discharged in May 1946 as a corporal. On June 5, 1950 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. 

Jim met his future wife at a college dance; he and Jane R. Sheppard were married on October 16, 1954 at the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Wilmington, DE, and took up residence in Westchester County. In 1966 they settled in Rye, where his maternal grandfather had run a smithy in the early years of the 20th century. 

Aside from his family, Jim’s great joys were his business, the J. A. Jackson Corporation, which began in an upstairs bedroom of the Jacksons’ house in 1955 and still operates in Mamaroneck, and his summer home on Lake George in the Adirondacks. For decades he was an active member of the Rye Rotary, which he served as President and where he was a Paul Harris Fellow, the Rye Presbyterian Church, where he served variously as Deacon, Trustee and Session member, and the Rye Historical Society, where he was a board member. 

Predeceased by his beloved parents James and Harriet (Walker) Jackson, Jim is survived by his wife of 68 and 1/2 years Jane R. Jackson, his children J. David Jackson of Mamaroneck, Sarah J. Tobin and her husband John Tobin of Rye, Robert F. Jackson of Newtown, CT, grandchildren Katie Tobin (John Chavies), Amanda Tobin Ripley (Ben Ripley), Jack Tobin, Chris Tobin, Daniel Jackson and James Jackson, and great granddaughters Victoria and Sonya Tobin-Chavies.

The family will receive friends at the Graham Funeral Home on Friday April 28, 2023 from 4 PM to 7 PM. Interment will be private; a memorial service celebrating his life will be held on May 13, 2023 at the Rye Presbyterian Church at 10 AM. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Rye Rotary Club in his memory.