Helen Day Jackson

Helen Day Jackson passed away peacefully on January 31, 2020, at age 92. She was born on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1927, in Pensacola, Florida, and was the youngest of six children of the late Mary Aline de Rocheblave Day and Woodward Waldo Day. She graduated from Pensacola High School in 1944, attended Mary Baldwin College, and graduated from Duke University in 1948, with a degree in English. She received a Master of Education degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she met W.L. “Bill” Jackson, Jr. They were married on June 14, 1950, in Pensacola and moved to Lakeland where Bill worked with his father in the animal food manufacturing business, The Lakeland Cash Feed Company. Helen was an active volunteer working on behalf of many community organizations, including the PTAs of St. Joseph’s School, Santa Fe High School and the Church of the Resurrection and the Junior League of Greater Lakeland. She was one of the first docents at the Polk Museum of Art and participated in numerous museum events over the years. She delivered hot meals for Volunteers in Service to the Elderly (VISTE), for many years and enjoyed interacting with VISTE clients in their homes. Helen was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She enjoyed weekends with family and friends at Little Gasparilla Island and Boca Grande, where the children and grandchildren learned about boating and fishing from Bill, and netted shrimp on the back dock with her for hours on end. She loved to read and take the children and grandchildren to the Lakeland Public Library to get their library cards. A trip to the library always concluded with feeding the swans and ducks on Lake Morton. She was an avid traveler, tennis player, and Lake Hollingsworth walker. She loved playing Bridge with her many lifelong friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, William L. “Bill” Jackson, Jr. on February 28, 1996, and grandson Jason Michael Jackson on December 18, 2017. She is survived by her sons William L. “Lee” Jackson, III (Becky), Daniel Day Jackson (Judy), Douglas Edward Jackson (Robin) and daughter Martha Jackson Nicolette (Galen). She is also survived by her eight grandchildren Joseph Allen Nicolette, Amanda Jackson Jones, Anne Marie Nicolette, Lindsay Jackson Celauro, Faye Louise Nicolette, John William Jackson, Nicole Marie Jackson, Kelly Ann Jackson, and three great-granddaughters, Sophia Marie Nicolette, Ruth Olivia Jones, and Piper Eliza Celauro. A visitation will be held at Heath Funeral Chapel Tribute Center on Friday, February 7, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Lakeland Regional Health Foundation (P.O. Box 95448, Lakeland, Florida, 33804), The Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College (800 East Palmetto Street, Lakeland, Florida, 33801), or VISTE (1232 East Magnolia Street, Lakeland, Florida, 33801).