Submitted by Daisy Jackson Clarke
Edward Burl Jackson 1919-2010
Edward Burl Jackson, 90, a Morgan County native who retired to Newnan, GA, died in his home on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010, after an extended illness. Edward Jackson was born on May 26, 1919 in the township of Malta. He was the third of seven children born to school teacher and farmer, Lorenzo Dow Jackson and his wife, Susan.
Ed was a 1936 graduate of Ringgold High School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Ohio University in Athens in 1940. After working for Columbus & Southern Ohio Electric and the Tennessee Valley Authority, Mr. Jackson was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943 and selected for duty in Oak Ridge, TN as part of the famous Manhattan Atomic Energy Project. He is survived by his wife, Frances Richards Jackson. They were married in 1943 in Rossville, GA.
After his discharge in 1946, the Jacksons spent most of their working life in the state of Washington where Ed served as an engineer and manager with the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and related organizations. Mr. Jackson was one of only 170 people to serve continuously during the entire 27-year history of the AEC. He was a registered professional engineer, patent holder, and pilot.
The Jacksons retired to Georgia in 1984 upon Mr. Jackson's completion of his career with the government. Mr. Jackson constructed his own home and enjoyed renovation projects and recreational vehicle travel in his retirement years. He often visited Morgan County for the annual Jackson family reunion held on Labor Day weekend at Embree Park in Pennsville.
Mr. Jackson's siblings included the late Mae Hickerson and Ruth Earich of Malta, and late brothers Thomas and Lee Jackson. His sister, Daisy Clarke of Columbus, and brother, Frank Jackson of Crooksville, survive him.
Mr. Jackson was buried in a private ceremony at Oak Hill Cemetery in Newnan, GA. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are suggested to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital or Ohio University's Russ College of Engineering.