Russell DeMar Jackson

Loved husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather and

great-grand-father Russell D. Jackson, passed away December 6, 2023, in Omaha. He was 96 years old and enjoyed a full and loving life.

A graveside burial service will be held at the Kearney Cemetery with friends and family in the Spring of 2024.

Memorials are suggested to the Shelton Volunteer Fire and Rescue, 218 C Street, Shelton, NE 68876.

Russell was born July 8, 1927, in Eureka, Kansas, to William and Viola Jackson. He was the oldest of two siblings: Betty and Sharon and a member of the United Methodist Church.

After high school graduation he entered military service on May 2, 1946, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He received medical training at Camp Wisconsin and then stationed in Sapor, Japan, attached to the 8th Army where he worked as a hospital medical and surgical tech at the 161st Station Hospital in WWII. On May 27, 1947, at Camp Stoneman, California, he was honorably discharged.

After leaving the military he worked for W.J. Small Company in the alfalfa business in Kansas.

On August 8, 1949, Russell was wed to Erma Pearse in Climax, Kansas. The couple moved to Nebraska to start their family and he began many years of work in the alfalfa dehy industry. He received several promotions and became regional manager of 13 mills in Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado. In 1966 Russell and family moved to Shelton, where he continued managing in the alfalfa dehy business.

In Shelton, Russell volunteered with the Shelton Fire and Rescue and many other community activities such as helping with Fourth of July firework displays and parades.

After a move to Lexington, Russell later retired as a production manager in 1989 with the alfalfa dehydration industry.

He loved hunting, fishing and golfing with friends and being with family. Russell and Erma travelled for five years visiting many states and enjoying the Southern weather of Arizona and Texas in the winter. Later, Russell and Erma settled in Omaha to be near family.

Through the years they have called Kansas; and Elm Creek, Kearney, Shelton and Lexington their home.

He will be dearly missed by his wife of 74 years, Erma; daughter, Susan Snyder, of Omaha; sons, Steve Jackson, of Ravenna, and Jim Jackson, of Florence, Arizona; sister, Sharon Carroll, of Taylorsville, Utah; numerous nieces nephews; eight grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a step-father, Russell McDonald; a sister, Betty Goetzinger; and two infant grandchildren.