Joseph “Joe” Jackson

A visitation will be held Saturday, June 28, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Laufersweiler Funeral Home in Fort Dodge. A burial service with military honors will then be held at 3:00 p.m. at the Greenbrier Cemetery, 1167 310th Street, Greene County, Iowa.

Joseph Jackson was born in 1934 at home in Greenbrier Township, Greene County Iowa to Ralph Jr. and Aryles (Simmer) Jackson, Joe grew up on the farm, attended grade school in a one-room schoolhouse, and graduated from Bagley High School in 1952. He then attended Iowa State University for one year before joining the Air Force in 1955 and beginning Aviation Cadet Training School at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas to become a jet pilot. During his years of active service, Joe flew various aircraft including the F86H Saberjet, F105 Thunderchief, and B47 Stratojet.

Joe and Karen Hedges were married in Scranton, Iowa in June of 1958, and they were blessed with five children. Their family moved from base to base throughout the United States until settling in Jefferson, Iowa in 1966 when Joe was assigned to Korat Air Base in Thailand, where he flew missions over Vietnam until 1967. Following this tour, Joe was stationed in New York before leaving active service in 1968. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force having attained the rank of Major. Joe and his family moved to Ames, Iowa in 1968 where he completed his Bachelors of Science Degree in Industrial Administration and was hired by the Internal Revenue Service as an agent. This brought about a move to Fort Dodge where Joe worked as an auditor for the IRS until retiring in 1989. Through the years in Fort Dodge, Joe returned to his farm roots, purchasing and managing farmland in Webster and Pocahontas Counties as well as his family's Century Farm near Bagley, Iowa. During retirement, he attained his realtor's and brokers' licenses, working for a while with Mulholland Realty and his own Triple J Realty. With his tax knowledge, he also consulted with various accounting and law firms on tax issues.

Joe loved time with Karen, working on the farms, playing with and encouraging his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, watching Iowa State and Iowa sports, discussing politics with his morning coffee group, writing witty editorials, and eating homemade vanilla ice cream.

Joe is survived by his wife Karen, children Dr. Kim Mihalko, Joseph Jackson II (Teresa), Kelly Jackson (Dr. Robert Tanenbaum), Korrine Jackson, and Dr. Kathryn Kaufman (Matt); his brother Stephen Jackson (Diane); ten grandchildren; and many great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers H. James (Jim) Jackson, Andrew Jackson, and Ralph Jackson, III; and sisters Jeanne Jackson and Joan (Joni) Hobart.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to UnityPoint Hospice of Fort Dodge for their unrelenting and compassionate care in the last months of Joe's life.