Jeanne Coughanour Jackson

Jeanne Coughanour Jackson, known to some friends as Jeannie, died peacefully in her sleep on October 12, 2021 after a sudden illness. She was 93 years old. Anyone who knew Jeanne would remark on what a lovely lady she was. She was kind and thoughtful to everyone. Underneath that gentleness was an incredible strength. As one of her granddaughters said, she was sweet and feisty, like all Texas women!

Jeanne was born in Dallas, Texas, a fourth generation Dallasite. She was an only child born to Mildred Anne Mensie and Richard David Coughanour. She attended Highland Park High School and went on to college at the University of Colorado, Denver, where she always said she majored in Skiing! She returned to Dallas after college and got a job as a reservations clerk at Braniff Airlines. While there she was introduced to her future husband Robert Jackson. They were married 60 years before his death in 2012.

Bob and Jeanne had one child, Jenny, born in 1953 the year the polio vaccine was created. Unfortunately for Jeanne she contracted polio that same year and was quarantined for a whole year. Jeanne never let her disability stop her! She swam for physical therapy in her recovery and didn’t stop until 2013 after shoulder surgery. Anyone who tried to keep up with her knows it was impossible-she was very fast on her crutches.

Jeanne was an artist. Many of us have treasured watercolor cards that she made for us. She was a prolific card writer. She had many other hobbies: flower arranging, gardening, knitting and antiquing. After a few years of filling their homes with antiques and doing garage sales Jeanne and her friend Ruth Brooks opened an antiques store in Snider Plaza called The Samplers. Their business continued for decades.

Jeanne, along with her husband Bob, was an early member of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church where she served on the Altar Guild and the Prayer Shawl knitting group as well as many social events through the church.Her funeral service will be held there on Wednesday, November 3 at 10:00 AM. She is survived by her daughter Jenny Jackson-Paton, three grandchildren Lucy McIntyre, Ruthie Kee, and Johanna Kee, and two great grandchildren Stellan and Alina McIntyre. Memorial contributions in Jeanne’s name can be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Church of the Good Shepherd or to a charity of one’s choice.