Marilyn Rae Jackson

Marilyn Rae Coleman Jackson passed on to her heavenly reward Tuesday May 10, 2016 in Plano. Marilyn married Jerry Malcom Jackson of Breckenridge in Lubbock in 1956. She was born to Wilbur Ralph and Clara Bell Ball Coleman of Hutchinson, Kansas on October 12, 1934. She was born in the midst of the great depression and lived through World War II as a child. Her brother Richard and future husband Jerry would both serve in the Korean War. Her little brother Ted and brothers-in-law Joe Bob Jackson and Thomas Jackson would also have to serve in the armed forces after Korea and through Vietnam. Life was not easy for her generation. Her father worked tirelessly to ensure that his little girl could be the first in his family to attend university. After graduating from Abilene High School in 1953, Marilyn attended Texas Tech University, where she would meet the husband with whom she would spend fifty-two years until his passing in 2008. Marilyn was a strong Christian and she and Jerry were members of the First Baptists Churches in Breckenridge, Moran, and Ranger, where Jerry served as Deacon. Jerry and Marilyn dedicated their lives to educating children. Marilyn continued her education while raising her four children, eventually earning her Bachelor Degree from Tarleton State University in 1972. While Jerry was the Superintendent of Schools in Moran and Ranger, Marilyn taught English, History and Spanish. She was a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma teaching sorority in the three communities where she taught and looked forward to the meetings with fellow teachers which fostered such a wonderful sense of collegiality. Marilyn was a great mother and never missed an athletic event, musical recital, or 4H Club activity in which her children were involved. She truly put her family first in everything she did. She provided a rich learning environment at home for her children, and fostered a lifelong love of learning for which her children are eternally grateful. Marilyn also was a livestock show mom who provided support as her children showed cattle, sheep, and swine at major livestock shows throughout the Southwest. The Jacksons always traveled as a family to various activities, which included four straight trips for daughter Katy to the state track meet in Austin, and trips to Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio among other places for livestock shows. At school, Marilyn had a passion for Language Arts and seventh grade Texas History. If you graduated from Ranger High School between 1982 and 2002, you experienced Mrs. Jackson’s expositions on Shakespeare, Poe, and Thoreau. Marilyn could quote line and verse, but wanted her students to experience literature with a unique approach for each individual child. She had her students stand up and act out parts of plays and short stories long before the research said active learning would yield better results. She was a very even tempered teacher who made learning fun and exciting. She truly found her life’s calling as a teacher. Marilyn suffered a stroke in 2007 while caring for Jerry and would have to leave her beloved farmhouse in Ranger. But even while she had to live closer to her children in Dallas, she always considered Ranger her hometown and would talk about Ranger’s wonderful people and her students until her last days. Marilyn was preceded in death by her mother and father W.R. and Clara Coleman, her husband Jerry, her mother and father-in-law William Rice and Maime Elise Jackson, her Brother-in-law and sister-in-law Dr. Bill and Shirley Jackson, and her brother Richard. Marilyn is survived by her brother Ted Coleman of Amarillo, her sister-in-law Judy Coleman of Watauga, her Children Vicki Olivier of Carrollton, Jerry Bradley Jackson of Stafford, Katy Jensen of Commerce, Jeffrey Jackson of Plano, ten grandchildren, and one great granddaughter. Marilyn loved her grandchildren and her family deeply and she will be dearly missed by them. Services will be conducted by Edwards Funeral Home in Ranger and there will be a graveside service at 11 AM Saturday, May 14th at the Jackson Family plot in the Macedonia Cemetery North of Ranger. The family will accept friends 9:30 to 10:30 AM before the service.
In lieu of flowers the family would like donations made to Jackson Youth Center (Brody Deaver 106 W. Main Ranger TX 76470).