Roger Allen Jackson

He was born November 20, 1936 in Hastings, Nebraska to W. Glenn and Gladys Jackson and was the younger brother of Walter Jackson.

As boys, Roger and his brother hunted and trapped muskrats and jackrabbits and sold the pelts to a local furrier. Roger graduated from Hastings High School in 1954. While in school, he swam for the school team and the YMCA. His most notable opponent was the TV personality Dick Cavett.

Roger met his high school sweetheart, Jo Anna Medsker, between Junior and Senior year. They were married February 20, 1955. They moved to Broken Bow, Nebraska for a short time before moving to Oregon later in 1955 along with Glenn and Gladys. Roger began working at the Buick Garage in Salem and while Glenn worked for the Chevy Garage.

In 1958, Roger, Glenn and Walter began construction on Jackson Body Shop on Silverton Road in Salem and opened for business in October 1958. Roger painted the cars after Walter did the body work and Glenn ran the office. Roger was an officer and Board member of Independent Garage Owners (IGO), Automotive Service Association (ASA) and was a board member of the Inter-Industry Conference on the Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR). He was proud to be one of the first three shops in the country and the first one in Oregon to become a Gold Class Shop. Today, son Jerry and his cousin Larry are the 3rd generation owners of the body shop.

As a family, Roger, Jo Anna, daughter Sherry and son Jerry, enjoyed camping and fishing. For many years, weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day were spend fishing on their boat for Salmon, Halibut and Ling Cod, going out of Newport, Oregon.

Roger had many interests. He was a league bowler for many years at Northgate Bowl. He and Jo Anna began Country Line Dancing. They had many friends with whom they danced with weekly. The dance group took a cruise together and performed on the ship.

When Roger and Jo Anna moved to McNary Estates in 1996 they began golfing. The golf bug bit Roger hard. He golfed every chance he got. His biggest golf accomplishment was his hole in one on the fourth hole at McNary.

Jerry, Carol, Sherry and Ken got Roger involved with shooting black powder guns in 2010. He was a member of Forest Hills Black Powder Brigade. He earned his mountain name 'Spyder' after being bit by a spider one day at the club and having a bad reaction.

Roger and Jo Anna took many RV trips to Palm Desert with friends. They took a cruise to Alaska once and drove the RV to Alaska another time. They traveled to many places around the United States in the RV.

Roger is survived by his wife Jo Anna of 67 years, Daughter Sherry (Ken) and Son Jerry (Carol), grandsons Brad (Naomi), Chris (Kacey), David (Cheri), Bryan (Stephanie) and 10 great grandchildren.

A special thank you to the caregivers in the Iris Unit at Keizer Station Bonaventure and Serenity Hospice.

In lieu of Flowers, contributions can be made to Salem First Christian Church Memorial Fund or the Alzheimer's Association.

A celebration of life will be held Friday, February 18, 2022 at 1:00pm at Salem First Christian Church, 685 Marion St. NE in Salem. A live stream of the service will be available on Salem FCC, YouTube and Facebook. Assisting is Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service.