Louise Jackson

LOUISE "MAXIE" AUSTIN JACKSON, daughter of Vermell and Walsh Austin, was born on November 25, 1907 in Sumter, South Carolina. She was one of nine children. Many of her memories were about childhood with her sisters and her brother. She had limited educational opportunities. She started working early. She recalled working in the cotton fields as a young girl. Eventually, she worked as a "domestic". She married William Jackson. From this union, Emma Jane Jackson was born. She often recalled carrying her daughter to work; and while she watched her employers' children, cooked, and cleaned, she did her best to care for her own child. She moved to Baltimore, Maryland. She was part of the great migration from the South. The domestic work continued until she was employed in retail sales. As a child, she had been given her roots in the Gospel of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was a lifetime inspiration. She became an evangelist and missionary, witnessing and, usually, finishing with a song. After being a member of several churches, and supporting numerous ministries, she found her spiritual home-Village Baptist Church. The summation could end here, but Louise Jackson's life spanned nearly one hundred years. She was a prolific storyteller with a prolific memory. There were many memories about wonderful joy and nearly unspeakable sadness and pain that could chronicle the history of a race of people. Her life was a lesson about love, honor, determination, humor, strength, and the zest for life. Of these, the timelessness of love may be the greatest. Determination energized her. A week before she died, she was still saying, "Let me see if I can help myself." She loved to cook. After she was dissuaded from cooking when she was 96 years old, she continued to cook in her mind. When her physical body couldn't perform, she actively performed in her mind. One visitor who came to see her two days before she died asked her what she was doing with her hands. She said, "sewing". She sang her last song that day, in a voice that was barely a whisper. She did this in the midst of pain. There were lessons about living and about dying, about forgiveness, and about humility. Louise Jackson was a daughter, sister, wife, mother, niece, aunt, cousin, grandmother, and friend. Her husband, daughter, son-in-law, and a grandson preceded her in death. She is survived by two sisters, Pauline Weston and Eva Dixon; nine grandchildren, Joseph Edwards, Jr., Audrey McConkey, Rodney, Jannette, Larry, Dennis, Ronald and Brian Edwards, Beverly Jackson (and spouses); eleven great-grandchildren, three great-great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, some cousins and friends, and her church family. A smile is timeless. Louise Jackson's smile survives.

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Louise Jackson

November 25, 1907 - July 30, 2005