Jean Elizabeth Corthern Jackson

Bluefield, WV- Jean Elizabeth Cothern Jackson, 86, of 700 Longview Avenue, Bluefield, WV, died Friday March 14, 2014 at Bluefield Regional Medical Center. Born May 16, 1927 in Tuscaloosa, AL, she was a daughter of the late Leland Irving Cothern and Dorothy Elizabeth Mack Cothern. Mrs. Jackson attended Blacksburg High School and graduated from Virginia Intermont Preparatory College in Bristol, VA 1945. She attended University of Alabama, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Ohio State University where she graduated in 1949 with a B.S. in Home Economics. Mrs. Jackson also received teaching certificates in Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. She began her career in New Philadelphia, OH in 1949 as a Home Economics Teacher and Cafeteria Manager before she moved to Norfolk, VA where she taught elementary school. Mrs. Jackson later worked as a clerk and typist for the Corps of Engineers at Nouasseur Air Force Base, French Morocco where she also taught elementary school. She also worked as a substitute teacher in Mercer County. She was a member of Bland Street United Methodist Church in Bluefield where she had been a bible school teacher and served on various church and circle committees. Mrs. Jackson was also a member of various civic organizations where she held various offices and chaired many committees. She was a member of the National Society of The Colonial Dames of America and was on the original Board of Directors with the American Association of University Women. She was involved with the Girl Scouts and Brownies, the Bluefield Garden Club and the Pink Dogwood Garden Club, was a member of the John Chapman Chapter of D.A.R., had been a PTA officer, a homeroom mother, worked with the High School Band Boosters, United Way and the Heart Fund. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 61 years, Basil Lynwood Jackson, Jr.; and one brother, John Cothern. Survivors include her children, Dorothy Jackson Godbery of Prairieville, LA, and Robert L. Jackson of Bluefield, WV; one sister, Dorothy Cothern Nugent of Waxhaw, NC; two grandchildren, Brooks and Casey Godbery of Prairieville; and two nieces, Amy Haase of Waxhaw, NC and Meg Hodges of Toccoa, GA. The family will receive friends at Mercer Funeral Home on Tuesday March, 18, 2014 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Funeral services will be conducted on Wednesday March 19, 2014 at 1:00 PM from Bland Street United Methodist Church with Rev. David L. Hall, Jr. officiating. Burial will follow at Monte Vista Park Cemetery in Green Valley where Eddy Dudleson, Danny Meade, Jeff Forelines, Johnny Beckett, Bill Albert, Ronnie Hypes, Ron Satterfield and Roger Budner will serve as pallbearers. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions, if desired, may be made to Bland Street United Methodist Church, Pastor's Fund, 2620 Bland Road, Bluefield, WV 24701. Those wishing to share memories or condolence messages with the family may do so by visiting www.MercerFuneralHome.com Mercer Funeral Home & Crematory in Bluefield is serving the family of Mrs. Jean Elizabeth Cothern Jackson.

Jean Elizabeth Corthern Jackson

May 16, 1927 - March 14, 2014