Murray Donn Jackson

1944 - 2012

Murray Donn Jackson, 68, went home to be with the Lord early Saturday morning August 25, 2012, surrounded by his loving wife and family. He was born January 28, 1944 in Toronto, Canada to Earl and Irene Jackson. His family moved from Canada to Downey, CA in 1960. He attended Warren High School and Cerritos College.

Growing up in Canada, Murray started playing ice hockey at a very early age. He and his friends would play hockey on the frozen lakes during the winter in Sudbury, Ontario. He loved the game of hockey. Murray met his sweetheart and love of his life, Sharon, while in high school and they married soon after on August 13, 1965, and made southern California there home.

Murray was an accountant at Farmers Brothers Coffee in Torrance, CA until one day in 1976, Murray decided it was time to leave the congestion of southern California and move his family to Redding, CA in December 1976. He did not have a job, had a handful of friends in Redding, but he remained strong in his faith that God would provide for his family. And He did; Murray found work as an accountant at Bridge Bay Resort, and later in the grocery business working at Better Buy Market in Palo Cedro, Holiday Market and Raley's. He later worked at Lithia Chevrolet and Toyota until he retired in 2010. Murray was loved by all of his co-workers and his customers.

Murray loved his wife very deeply, and everyone that knew Murray and Sharon knew they were a team. He loved and was very proud of his two sons David and Kevin and he deeply loved his five grandchildren, making sure not to miss their special events. Murray started playing hockey in Redding in the mid 90's and later started playing at Big League Dreams where he made many friends. In his last game, his grandson, Kaesen, was able to play with his team which brought Murray great joy. He loved vacationing in Lake Tahoe. In July, he made his final trip to Tahoe and spent a wonderful week on the beach with his family and friends. Murray was an honorable man who led by example. His family and friends knew him as a very caring, loving, humble, encouraging and gentle man who loved the Lord and would help any family member or friend in time of need. He was a devout Christian and was a founding member of Little Country Church and later attended Risen King Community Church. Murray had many, many friends.

Murray is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Sharon, his oldest son David (Jennifer) of Redding, son Kevin of Washington, his parents, Earl and Irene Jackson of Redding, his brother, Leonard (Jenny) of Murrietta, CA , his five grandchildren Morgan, Jade, Kaesen, Peyton and Olivia, and cousins Brian and Grant Pottage, Raymond McConnell, and many nieces and nephews.

Murray was a wonderful and loving husband, father, son, brother, grandfather and friend to all.

Special thank you to Dr. Schepps, Dr. Jed Freeman (and fellow hockey buddy), Dr. Dhanuka, and the excellent staff at Mercy Hospital and Mercy Hospice for the compassionate care and support of Murray and his family.

A memorial celebration of Murray's life will be held Friday, August 31, 2012 at 3:00 pm at Risen King Community Church on Oasis Road, Redding, CA.