Jack Jackson, Ladies’ man, Cowboy, Snappy dresser, Gardener, Accomplished hunter, & Feeder, has moved on to greener pastures Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at 3:16 am.
Jack was an avid feeder; for years, he stocked and fed several fishing ponds in preparation for retirement fishing. He fed feral cats. He fed his dog Spot, which was a Brahma bull. He fed and counted cows occasionally for Pearce Ranch + Trust, and he fed candy to every child who came to his house.
The women in his life were numerous. He particularly fancied smart women (His Wife, Mother, Sisters (In-laws and out-laws), daughter, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters. He loved his mom, Mary Lois Jackson (Pryor) (deceased). His older sisters, Vivian La Juane Lawson (Jackson) and Gwendolyn Louise Whitney (Jackson) are also deceased. Two surviving Sisters, Mary Alice Fritz (Jackson) and Mamie Sue Gould (Jackson). His father William Neil Jackson (deceased). Brothers Andy Jackson and Ed Jackson, whom he used to play cowboys with actual .22 rifles. He married the love of his life almost 60 years ago. Virginia Lorien Jackson (Washburn) in Pecos, Texas, November 18, 1965, at Judge Roy Bean’s Saloon and Courtroom. A shotgun wedding, though, no one can say who they were pointed at. They had two children, Marylois Johnson (Jackson)(husband Mark Alan Johnson) and Arthur Lewis “Bo” Jack Jackson Jr. (Wife Kimberly Jackson (Hayes)), both of Lovington, NM. He taught his children to hunt and fish and how to be the hunting dog as he directed them to chase the deer in the right direction. He taught them to love and respect the land and nature. Jack was given 8 grandchildren that he took great pride in. Mark Johnson III, Samantha Brown (Jackson), Amanda Johnson, Elizabeth Jackson, Amy Johnson, Arthur “Bo” Jackson, Steven Johnson, Holly Boyd (Jackson). He also adored his 12 great-grandchildren Derrik Johnson, Makenah Smith, Albert Murphy, Raelynne Boyd, Abigail Payne, Stormie Johnson, Nathaniel Payne, Christian Jackson, Abraham Payne, Adeline Payne, Naleigha Payne, Caleb Jackson. Including spouses, Jack has a legacy of 34, not bad for one man. Jack was born in Bowie, Texas, his parent’s only Texas child. His schooling through the 8th grade was spent in a one-room schoolhouse in Loco Hills, New Mexico; then, he attended high school in Artesia, New Mexico. He started his working life early, around the age of 12, as a derrick hand for Neil Jackson and Sons Well Service on a pulling unit, working in every position at one time or another. After a few years of travel as a truck driver, where he saw many views of this country at 100 MPH from the highway. He eventually returned to the oilfield to be in charge of drilling for Mesa Petroleum, where he helped drill the world’s deepest well (At the time). He found his favorite job as a water master in 1990 and eventually retired in 2014, laughing while watching his daughter and son-in-law, who took over his business. He had a lifelong love affair with deviled eggs, bacon, a great streak, steak fries, fried squash, jalapenos, pickled beets, buttermilk, Owens sausage, homemade bread, preserves, cherry cream pie, okay, any pie. He loved gardens and gardening and always gave great advice, like “Do the opposite of what I do because I can’t grown a damn thing”. He had a place for everything, and everything was in its place and it was all “Out yonder,” and we were expected to know where that was. He loved his oversized old man remotes for the TV sound, radio, AC, and heaters; we’re pretty sure that he even had one for his wife because we know he only heard what he wanted to. He watched western movies, especially John Wayne. One of his favorite quotes was, “Life is hard, its harder if you’re stupid” – John Wayne. His favorite movies were Hellfighters (1968) and Texas Across the River (1966). He was full of old advice, like, “A job worth doing is a job worth doing right,” “Don’t cuss in front of the women,” “If a man don’t work, then he don’t eat”, and “If your left foot hurts, let me hit the right one with a hammer so you forget about it.” He took fashion cues from no one. His signature look was all his own. A western pearl snap shirt designed by the fashion icon Wrangler. Levi 501 jeans, button-up, and a belt with the buckle that he bought at Bennies Western Wear in Artesia, New Mexico, with his very first paycheck, circa 1960. Pointed-toe cowboy boots and a Stetson straw hat that had seen too many cigarettes, bowing dirt, scorching sunsets, and its share of chases across the deserts of New Mexico. In every sense of the work, a cowboy from roots to boots, from hat to deep southern Texas drawl, to a dark tan from the heat of the desert sun. Born in the wrong time, he was a quick draw; his children would watch him practice in awe of the sound of the pistole clearing his holster. It was like watching a Western in our own living room. Never a complainer. He never left you in doubt that he loved you; he said it all the time, and they were his last words. . . “Love you.”
Please join us in celebrating his extraordinary life at The Western Heritage Museum & Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame. March 8, 2025, 2-4 pm, with a dinner to follow.
If you wish to express your condolences with a gift/donation, please send them to 410 E Illinois St. Hobbs, NM, 88242, or Call his granddaughter Amanda Johnson, 575 665-8049 (His favorite color was white; roses were his favorite flower; he had a passion for fruit trees, and food nourished his soul.)
