Jackson, Alice (Cleveland)

  • Friday, September 19, 2014

Alice Jackson, 105, of Cleveland, TN, died on Tuesday, September 16, 2014.

She was born on October 31, 1908 in the Big Springs Community in Meigs County. Mrs. Jackson along with her husband, Ray, opened an upholstery shop on McCallie Avenue in Chattanooga in 1933 during the financially difficult days of the depression.  In 1937 they started Jackson Manufacturing Company in East Chattanooga.  They bought Cleveland Chair Company in 1943 and moved their company to Cleveland.  Today their company is known under the names of Jackson Furniture and Catnapper.

Alice and Ray Jackson moved their family to Cleveland in 1944.  She was an active member of the community.  She was the oldest member of Broad Street United Methodist Church where she was a member of the Parks-Johnston Sunday School Class and The United Methodist Women. In the 1950s she was active in the church’s ministries at Lundy Chapel in East Cleveland.  During the 1960s the church celebrated many Easter Sunrise services in her rose garden at the Jackson farm.  Through the years she was a devoted supporter of Mt. Carmel United Methodist which her grandfathers helped to build in the early 1900s in Meigs County.

For 14 years Mrs. Jackson was a dedicated Grey Lady at Bradley Memorial Hospital and later volunteered for many years at the Bradley County Nursing Home.  She was also a member of the Cleveland Women’s Club and the Rosemary Garden Club.

During her 105 years she witnessed many changes in the world around her.  She saw the dirt road in front of her house become a busy thoroughfare and I-75 slice through the western section of the farm.  She often remarked that she thought the whole world was being covered with asphalt.  She enjoyed sitting on her back porch and looking out on the green fields that surrounded her house.  Her favorite time of the year was when they were cutting and bailing hay; it reminded her of an earlier time in her life.

During her life she experienced times of strife and times of peace, living through both World Wars and the many wars that followed.  She grew a Victory garden during World War II.  She loved to cook and to can fresh vegetables in the summer.  Even during her last year she continued to cook special dishes for members of her family.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ray Jackson; her parents, John and Sarah Jolly Jewell; her sisters, Mary Jernigan and Jolly Woods; and her brothers, J.T. Jewell and Roy Jewell.

She is survived by her children, Virginia Matheny and husband, Leo, Roger Jackson and wife, Sandy and Ron Jackson and wife, Carolyn, all of Cleveland; grandchildren, Hank Matheny of Cleveland, Amy Matheny of Chicago, Tom Jackson of Chattanooga, Mark Jackson and wife, Erin, of San Angelo, TX and Keith Jackson and wife, Amanda of Chattanooga; great-grandchildren, Norris Jackson, Phoebe Jackson and Jilliam Jackson; and several nieces and nephews.

The family expresses their gratitude to the many caregivers who have blessed their mother’s life during the past years, her friend, Ernesto Cortes who was her farm manager for many years.

The funeral service will be conducted at 1 p.m. Saturday, September 20, at the Broad Street United Methodist Church with Reverend Randy Martin and Reverend Debbie Stokes officiating.  Interment will follow at 3 p.m. at Hilcrest Memorial Gardens.

The family will receive friends from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, September 20 in the church parlor prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorial contributions be made to Broad Street United Methodist Church, PO Box 3, Cleveland, TN 37364, Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church, 276 Mt. Carmel Road, Decatur, TN, 37322-5820 and Holston Methodist Home for Children, 215 E. Springbrook Drive. Johnson City, TN 37601.

Ralph Buckner Funeral Home has charge of the arrangements.

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