WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
Ronnie E. Jackson, age 66, of Sturgis, passed away Thursday, March 6, 2014, at Three Rivers Health.
He was born Jan. 15, 1948, in Springfield, Tenn., a son of the late Fred Kelton and Eva (Crawford) Jackson.
Ronnie had been a resident of the Sturgis area most of his life, moving here from Tennessee.
He graduated high school and attended Tri-State University, studying mechanical engineering.
He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving and becoming injured in Vietnam.
In Dec. of 1973, he married Robyn Wood. This marriage ended in divorce in June 1989. On May 5, 1993, he married Dollie Smallwood, and she preceded him in death Feb. 2, 2014.
He was an owner/operator truck driver most of his life and enjoyed stock car racing, waterskiing, scuba diving, playing pinochle, watching professional bull riding, rabbit hunting, working on cars and had his pilot license, owning a plane at the Sturgis airport for many years.
Surviving are a son, Ronnie L. Jackson of Sturgis; a stepdaughter, Julie Oliver of Hartford; two granddaughters, Janie and Kaitlyn Jackson; a brother, William Jackson; three sisters, Ramona Jacobs, Judy Parish and Peggy Davis; and special friends Robyn (John) Cochensparger of Sturgis.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Dollie; brothers Earl “Wayne,” Ired “Jack,” Terry, and Howard Jackson; sisters Ruth and Dorothy; and an infant sister, Margaret Lou.
The family will receive friends and relatives from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Rosenberg Chapel of Hackman Family Funeral Homes, 807 E. Chicago Road, Sturgis.
Full military honors will be conferred at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home by the U.S. Army Honor Guard and Capt. John J. Kelley V.F.W. Post #1355.
Memorial donations may be directed to the family. Envelopes are available at the funeral home.
His obituary is also at www.hackmanfamilyfuneralhome.com, where personal messages of support may be left for the family.
