Wendy M Jackson

Wendy Marjorie Jackson was born in East London in May 5, 1940 to Frederick and Minnie Maud (Sanders) Blakemore.  She was the fourth of their six children, and started her childhood in the tempest of London in middle of World War II.  After finishing school, she worked at the famed Harrods department store in downtown London and Holiday camps in the summer on the coast.  Her young adulthood was full of fun and friends, including rocker Tommy Steele.  She even dated Billy Fury at the height of his popularity.  But it was an Airman from RAF Bendwaters that truly caught her eye.  She later joked that is was her mother’s cooking for the men in great need of a home cooked meal that actually brought Jerome Francis Jackson, Jr. into her life.

They married  April 21, 1966; Wendy and Jerome started a life together in the US Air Force.  Their children, Kerry Irene Jackson, and Mark Daniel Jackson were both born in England during Jerome’s TDY.  Many moves and many holidays apart, they retired in Tampa, Florida where they happily spent their remaining years together.  She was an excellent conversationalist, and fondly recounted stories from her childhood.  She was skilled at managing the budget, as well as knitting and crochet.  Wendy delighted in children, always caring for her kid’s classmates and neighbors latchkey children.  She enjoyed animals as well, taking in many stray dogs, raising fledgling birds, and managing a household that included at least a few rabbits, dogs or the occasional parrot. They enjoyed camping, first with the family, then later in a comfortable luxury motor home, they traveled the country.

After Jerome’s unexpected death in April 22, 2015, She and their dog Mactavish stayed in Tampa for some time until advancing debilitation prompted her to move close to her son, Mark in Tarpon Springs, where she passed on December 23, 2017, surrounded by her family.

Wendy is survived by her two children, Kerry Jackson and Mark Jackson, and five siblings, Alan Blakemore of New Zealand, Mervyn Blakemore, Hazel Maudlin and Colin Blakemore of England, and Roy Blakemore of South Africa.