Dr. Francis Miller Jackson

Dr. Francis Miller Jackson, 86, of Newland Street, Morganton, NC died Thursday, March 24, 2011 at the Burke Palliative Care Center. Born on February 3, 1925 in West Point, GA, he was the son of the late Brooks Rolin Jackson and Frances Freeman Jackson. During WWII, Dr. Jackson served with the U.S. Army’s 36th Infantry and was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.A graduate of the University of Georgia School of Veterinary Medicine in 1952, he practiced in Newnan, GA and West Point, GA. He also had a private veterinary practice in Morganton from 1961 until 1972 during which time he also worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, from which he retired. Dr. Jackson was a member of the First United Methodist Church, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, and Catawba Valley Masonic Lodge #217.In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Patricia Walburn Jackson; six brothers; and one sister.Dr. Jackson is survived by two sons, Dr. Dan Jackson and wife, Debbie, of Cumberland, MD and Tom Jackson of Charlotte, NC; a daughter, Mary Jackson Rasnick of Morganton; a brother, Edmund Jackson of Tampa, FL; grandchildren, Dan "Chip" Jackson, Jr. of Chapel Hill, NC, Katie J. Budris of Arlington, VA, Ashley Jackson of Little Rock, AR, Miller Jackson of Black Mountain, NC, and Carly Rasnick of Morganton.The funeral will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, March 26, 2011 in the Colonial Chapel of Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center in Morganton, NC with Rev. Dr. Sydnor Thompson, III officiating. Burial will follow in Burke Memorial Park with military honors provided by the N.C. National Guard. The family will receive friends at the funeral home one hour prior to the service. Memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist Church, 200 N. King Street, Morganton, NC 28655.The Jackson family thanks the following caregivers for their love and devotion to our father: Pam Cansler, Andrea Woods, Judy Roper, Dennis Grasso, Kristin Elliot, and Ginger Parker.