Charles Nicholas Jackson Junior, age 97, was called to be with God on December 31, 2024.

Charles was born on February 27, 1927, in  Sangerfield, New York. This was the same year Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic Ocean! Charles who liked to be called, Charlie, was the oldest of four children who were all very close. They were raised as a Catholic family. His brother Leonard was a year-and-a-half younger, his sister Anne five years younger and his brother Jim 10 years younger.

Sangerfield is a small farming community of about 100 people in upstate New York near the intersection of US Highway 20 and State Route 12. As it happens, US Highway 20 actually extends across the whole country running clear through Oregon.

Charlie and his dad went fishing at least twice a week for catfish, perch, pickerel, bass and trout in the streams around Sangerfield using bamboo poles that were at least ten feet long. As a family they’d go camping at Fourth Lake in the Adirondacks to relax while enjoying nature, invent new ways to play Monopoly, bicycle and play one-o’-cat softball. Additionally, they picked berries and went sledding in the winter. His favorite hobby was building model airplanes, but he also enjoyed going to the movies, and listening to such radio shows as: I Love a Mystery and Only the Shadow Knows. He thought Jack Benny was terrific too!

When Charlie was 13-years old his dad bought an 80-acre farm and 25 cows. He and his siblings did a lot of work on this farm. It was common for the farmers to help each other out planting and harvesting crops. They used to cut corn using a chopper that hooked up a tractor motor operated with belts. It was easy to get caught in those belts and there were many one legged farmers in the area who learned the hard-way. At fourteen he built the foundation for a new chicken coup, and the hardest part was getting the walls square.

Charlie and his mother sold dairy products as a side business. They had a Jersey cow that gave very rich milk around 7% cream fat. They would make cottage cheese and sell it for 10 cents per pound. Charlie also had a magazine route selling Liberty magazine door-to-door using his Pathway bicycle.

In 1941, whIle still only 14 years old, he got his first real job at the Cherry Valley Oil Company pumping gas and collecting ration stamps. He would wash their windows and check their oil for 75 cents per hour. Unfortunately, with all those outdoors jobs he caught pneumonia three times before the age of nineteen.

Dad graduated from Waterville Central High School in 1944 with thirty classmates. He was the first male in his extended family to graduate from high school.

Right after graduation he entered Clarkson College working towards a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering while living in a fraternity. Dad was very studious and balanced several jobs for enough money to pay his tuition, books, room and board. The president of Clarkson wrote a letter to Dad’s draft board so that he could complete his third semester of college before being drafted into the Army. Soon afterwards he was transferred into the Navy and sent to Del Monte, California for two years of specialized technical training.

Charlie met his wife, Kathleen, at a Navy Mother’s Club dance in San Francisco, dated for a while and then married her in 1950. After a year in the Navy Dad was honorably discharged and returned to Clarkson College on the GI Bill. He now had enough money for food. He was active in the Math Club, American Society of Electrical Engineers, Newman Club and Sigma Delta Fraternity. I was surprised to learn that back-in-the-day students gathered for “Smokers” in their fraternity house basements for evenings of relaxation after studying. Things haven’t changed much except today we call them “Keggers.” On June 20, 1948 Dad graduated from Clarkson College with Honors attaining a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering.

After a wedding trip through Yosemite Park, Salt Lake City and Niagara Falls they made their home in Philadelphia, PA. Charlie started his career in the “Switchgear” department at General Electric. On the first day of work, he witnessed a dead body being brought out on a stretcher which impressed upon him the importance of safety, an attitude that followed him all through life. He published articles in, The Relayer, a newsletter for the GE Test Engineers in the Switchgear Division. Three years later he was transferred to Schenectady, New York to work in the Steam Turbine Department to help develop their training program, and then on to a more permanent position in the GE Meter and Instrument Division in Lynn, Massachusetts. Charlie remembers that every Friday a payroll clerk would come by with a cart full of envelopes containing cash to pay the employees!

Charlie and Kathleen were married forty-nine years and had six children. Sheila was born in 1951, Joe in 1953, Helen in 1954, Alice in 1956, Tom in 1957, and Paul in 1963. Charlie was an active Father involved in sports and activities with Kathleen and his children.
In 1956 Charlie landed a job in the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Department of General Electric which allowed him to work on a Masters Degree through the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. With Kathleen’s help in both raising their family and typing his thesis on neutron detectors, Dad graduated with a Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering in August of 1959.

From 1957 to 1961, Charlie lived with his family in a little brick house at 1329 Wittekind Terrace, College Hill in Cincinnati. It was joked that they lived in a “little brick oven” during the hot summer months. During the Winter they would get deep snow falls from the “lake effect” from Lake Erie. Dad could not get to work, so instead he would take the entire family out sledding on the big hill, which by all accounts was pure excitement. One summer he surprised everybody by installing in their backyard a playhouse which he had built himself. Another year, Mom and Dad took dance lessons at the Arthur Murray Studios. Mom looked stunning all made up in evening dress. On Saturday evenings Dad had babysitting duties, everybody remembers him eating sardines out of the tin- nobody could bare the smell or the sounds of crunching bones as he chewed.

Some summers the family would drive to Sangerfield to see his Parents. Grandma and Grandpa lived in a huge white farmhouse complete with a smelly cow barn and gas station.

Due to layoffs at General Electric, Charlie moved his family to Richland, Washington to work at the Hanford Reservation. He drove the family West in the 1957 Chevy station wagon with cartop carrier. When they arrived in Umatilla, Oregon they began to have doubts. Were they really going to live in such an isolated place? We did it for fifty plus years. After several weeks of looking for a house, he finally found a newly built red and white split level at 1616 Davison, which was found surrounded by government alphabet housing near Jefferson Elementary Grade School.

Dad took the family on camping trips. One such trip in 1962 included the Seattle World’s Fair. Eventually, the last sibling Paul was born in September 1963. Over several summers, I remember family vacations riding in the new 1965 Ford Station Wagon (with car top carrier) to Oakland, California to visit Grandma and Grandpa Quinn, Kathleen’s parents. Being the youngest and smallest, I got to ride in the very back pop-up seats.

We all went to Mass at Christ the King Church with Monsignor Sweeney presiding in the original church building. We also all attended Christ the King Elementary School which was staffed by the Sisters of the Holy Name. I remember we wore school uniforms, and, on many occasions, we would ride or walk our bikes to school about a mile away, sometimes through dust storms! Through dad’s involvement with the Knight of Columbus, he became active in Boy Scouting of America and became the Scout Master for Troop 249 for several years. All three of us boys participated. I did not achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, but I am glad to say my son Nicholas has.

At Hanford, Charlie became an expert in Leak Testing, receiving national certification and recognition. Charlie explained that fuel elements in nuclear plants need to be very reliable, safe and leak tight. In 1969, Dad received a certificate of appreciation from the Richland Section of the Institute of Electrical Engineering for second place in a technical paper contest. In 1978, Dad was given an Invention Award by Westinghouse Company for a method measuring water fractions in a steam pipe using neutrons. He was consulted by many groups, such as NASA, because they needed to know how leak-tight their valves were in space and how to test them. He also developed the tests, that he then used to test the Nation’s “Liberty Bell” to determine the status of its cracking. Charlie wrote a book and many technical papers on leak testing and non-destructive testing.

His biggest career accomplishment at Hanford was developing a performance specification for the installation of a research nuclear reactor for the purpose of taking neutron radiographs. Dad retired from Westinghouse Hanford April 1, 1989. After retirement, he wrote up his non-destructive testing notes and had them published in a technical guide. About 2005, he was inducted into the American Society of Nuclear Testing (ASNT) as a Fellow Engineer, a very prestigious technical achievement, at an awards ceremony in Las Vegas Nevada.

After retirement, Dad took up bicycling and joined the Tri-City Bicycle club jumping in with both feet! He quickly became the club’s Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-President and President over the span of four years. He was participating in club rides two or three times a week. About 1993, Dad road the Seattle-To-Portland (STP), a two-day bicycle ride covering 209-miles with his son Paul and his grandson Luke — at 65 years old!!

Dad was always thinking ahead and recognized the need for a single-story house as he and mom were getting older. He organized a triple move about 1996; He bought the house behind us on Hunt Ave and helped the surviving widow move out into a new apartment, then he moved in with Mom, and sold the family home at 1616 Davison to his youngest son Paul.

Getting rid of a lifetime of stuff was an effort. For example, over the years dad developed an affinity for 1965 Ford Station Wagons. He bought them for parts to keep our original ’65 Station Wagon on the road, affectionally known as the “white ghost”, for mom to drive. Dad had accumulated several of them along with even more engine blocks and transmissions scattered about our back yard and patio. I remember dad was proud of rebuilding those engines and tinkering with adding new instruments to the dashboard and having automotive discussions with our Uncle Ray, Moms Brother-In-Law. Cars were his favorite hobby!

He also liked to take us kids boating on the Columbia River. Believe it or not, he bought a Sears and Roeback16-foot 45-HP Outboard motorboat that could pull us out of the water! We had lots of fun boating during those summers, one of the best ways to survive the summer heat. Dad always liked an ice-cold beer on such occasions.

Kathleen passed in January 1999. It was sad for him, but dad was resilient with his faith in Christ. He talked about joining the astronomy club; one of his many interests. Dad eventually married Donna Curry in Sept 2000 and instantly Dad’s family grew with three additional stepsons and stepdaughters. This made for many large barbeques at Dad’s new House and patio with his extended family.

Dad had a hip replacement and during his recovery Donna noticed purplish veins running down his leg. It provided to be blood poisoning. Thank you, Donna, for insisting on having this checked out; it probably saved his life!
Donna passed in August 2008 from lung cancer at the age of 72, coincidently the same reason and age as Kathleen’s death – a chilling thought.

Dad moved into assisted living in Kennewick, Washington. Soon afterwards he had a botched cataract surgery in one eye, which caused him to move to Vancouver, Washington to be near eye specialists in Portland. He received help from our oldest sister Sheila who lived nearby. Since about 2010 up to end of last year, Dad lived at a retirement home called the Quarry. Dad impressed the staff by wearing his bicycle helmet indoors while walking around. This was a precaution against hitting his head on the ground from fainting due to a low sodium condition. Another great example of dad’s relentless effort to be safe! I suspect from years of working in the Electrical and Nuclear Industries.

For several years while dad was at the Quarry, he would call his children on Sunday afternoons. In one of these phone conversations, I shared with him that my daughter, Elle, bought a 2016 Ford Mustang. He responded by telling me, while I was in high school, that he steered me towards driving a 1969 Ford Bronco to keep me from being tempted to race my friend down the street. His dad also helped him buy a 1965 Ford Mustang. He mentioned, that in his youth, he blew the engine of his 1930’s Ford Coupe racing his younger Brother Leonard! This was really surprising, since he always told us children that he had never received a driving ticket or had a car accident; He pointed out to me that this did not result in a ticket or accident, Correct! We both had a good laugh.

Charles, Charlie, or Dad, you have always impressed people with your exemplary life. You have touched many people in very positive ways! I know you are up in heaven, and if anybody can do it, you will figure out how to get along with two wives.

Charlie is preceded in death by his mother Margaret Lucy Quillman, his father Charles Nicholas Jackson, brother Leonard Jackson, sister Anne Jackson, wife Kathleen Jackson and his oldest daughter Sheila Martinson. He is also preceded in death by his second wife Donna Curry.

Charlie is survived by his youngest brother Jim Jackson. In addition, Charlie with Kathleen (first wife), is also survived by his children starting with the oldest: Joseph Jackson, Helen & her husband Darrell Holden, Alice Jackson, Thomas & his wife Cora Jackson and Paul & his wife Florely Jackson and grandchildren: Luke & his wife Linnea, Kelly & her husband Tim, Jacqueline (JJ), Tyler, Elle, Nicholas and great-grandchildren: Lilly, Aubrey and Emma.

Also, Charlie with Donna (second wife), are survived by her children starting with the oldest: Daniel Curry, Kelly Curry, Aimee Curry, Becky Curry, Christopher Curry, David & his wife Janice Curry and grandchildren: Sara, Cheyanne, Cassidy, Kayla, Jessica, Shana, Adelia, Ashley, Christian, Anna and Colton and great-grandchildren: Mason, Greyson, Addie, Kenny, Liam, Tucker, Thalia, Cassius, and John.

Memorial contributions may be made to Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts of America) at https://www.scouting.org (link GIVE in upper righthand corner).
Express your thoughts and memories on our online guest book at https://www.sunsetgardenstricities.com/obituary/2024/12/charles-nicholas-jackson-jr/.
Flowers can be sent to Einan’s Funeral home in Richland.