Virginia Wagner Jackson

Virginia Wagner Jackson Southfield, Michigan formerly of Saginaw Passed away peacefully at St. Anne's Mead Assisted Living and Extended Care residence in Southfield, Michigan on September 6, 2016, at the age of 102. She was born September 13, 1913, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the first child of William Julius Wagner and Josie (Vos) Wagner. Growing up in the heady atmosphere of prosperity and amazing technological advancement in the U.S. in the early-1900s, Virginia enjoyed a very happy childhood and also a truly fascinating one. Her father was an engineer and general manager of the Tanglefoot Flypaper Company and later participated in the Manhattan Project, and her "at-home mom" had been trained as a primary school teacher. Virginia grew up with two younger siblings: her sister, Jean Marian Wagner (married James C.H. Davis), and her brother, William John Wagner (married Barbara McLaughlin), grandparents and extended family with rich German and Dutch roots. She attended Grand Rapids public schools -- Sigsbee Elementary, Ottawa Hills HS, and Grand Rapids Junior College -- and later The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where she completed a B.A. in Mathematics in 1935 and pursued a year of graduate study in Sociology in 1935-1936. Embarking from U of M in the middle of the Great Depression, Virginia was fortunate to "land a job" as psychometrician at the Caro State Hospital in Wajamega, MI. This good luck positioned her for the further good fortune of meeting the love of her life, Wendell Cleves Jackson, USNR, son of Harker Willoughby Jackson and Marion Elizabeth Cleves Jackson of Saginaw, MI, and himself an engineer at Koehler Bros. Steel in Saginaw. On March 4, 1939, Virginia and Wendell were married at the East Congregational Church in Grand Rapids, and they established their first home in a small apartment over a plumbing shop in Reese, MI, halfway between their jobs in Saginaw and Caro. As a Reserve Naval Officer, Wendell was called to active duty in 1940 before the U.S. formally entered World War II and remained in active service, commanding troop transport ships to Europe and Japan, until receiving honorable discharge as Captain, USNR, in 1946. Their daughter, Marion Elizabeth Jackson (now of Detroit), was born in these war years during which Virginia traveled to eastern seaboard Naval bases as often as possible and lived in New York and New Jersey when Wendell was stationed in port for extended periods. Twin sons were born to Virginia and Wendell toward the end of WWII: Terrence Cleves Jackson (married Anne Hoerauf) of Winton, MN: and Dennis Cleves Jackson (married Beverly Nescot) of Tumwater, WA. After WWII, the Jacksons returned to Saginaw where Wendell resumed his job as an engineer with Koehler Brothers Steel. The Jacksons were members of the First Congregational Church, and Virginia was active in community organizations such as the Parent Teachers Association (PTA), the University of Michigan Alumnae Association, and the Women's Farm and Garden Club, and she served as a Cub Scout den mother and literacy volunteer with Saginaw elementary school students. An "at-home mom" while her children were growing up, Virginia returned to work as a caseworker at Child and Family Service in Saginaw from 1965 to 1978. Virginia cherished her family and friends, and they were central to her life. Known for her welcoming hospitality, Virginia loved to cook and to experiment with new recipes. She enjoyed her bridge club of many years and loved holidays and travel -- from summer vacations at Grand Haven on Lake Michigan to family trips in the U.S. and Canada when her family was young and later international travel to Portugal and Ireland. Drawing and painting gave her many hours of pleasure in her later years, as did visiting with friends, reading, knitting, and keeping up with Michigan college basketball and the Detroit Tigers. Summarizing wisdom gained during her long and blessed life, Virginia expressed in her final days her confidence that "life is love" and asked that there not be "sorryness" at her passing but rather "happiness" for good times shared. Virginia was preceded in death by her beloved husband, her parents and her siblings. She is survived by her three children (listed above) and her four grandchildren: Michael Cleves Jackson, Red Lake, MN; Timothy Wendell Jackson, Winton, MN; Caroline Anne Jackson Yost (Chad Yost), Tucson, AZ; Amy Katherine Jackson, Seattle, WA; several nieces, nephews, and grand-nieces and grand-nephews; and many, many friends from all walks of life for whom she had great affection and whose caring in return made her life very rich. A public memorial service celebrating Virginia's life will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 14, at the St. Anne's Mead Assisted Living and Nursing Care residence, 16106 W. 12 Mile Road, Southfield, Michigan 48076 (Phone: 248-557-1221). Committal services will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 16, at Oakwood Cemetery, 6100 Gratiot Road in Saginaw, Michigan. Friends wishing to make memorial gifts are encouraged to consider honoring the life of Virginia Jackson with a gift to the St. Anne's Mead 50th Anniversary Fund or to a charity or a public cause of their own choosing. www.casefuneralhome.com

Funeral Home:
W. L. Case and Company Mackinaw Funeral Chapel
4480 Mackinaw Road
Saginaw, MI
US 48603