Dr. Caroline Osborne Goode Jackson

Dr. Caroline “Calley” Goode Jackson passed away peacefully just a few days before her 94th birthday. Born on August 15, 1925 in Dinwiddie Court House, VA, she was the youngest daughter of State Senator Morton Graham Goode and Lucy Homes Goode. Caroline Goode dreamed of becoming a doctor and finding a cure for her father’s migraines. She attended Westhampton College of the University of Richmond where she majored in Biology with a minor in Psychology. During her four years at Westhampton, she played varsity basketball, field hockey and tennis. “If you played three sports, you were given a blazer.” She would say, “I was very proud of that.” For her senior year, she was elected student government president. Calley graduated in 1946 and in spite of having completed an application for medical school, she chose to begin her career instead. She accepted a position as Assistant in Biology at the Medical College of Virginia School of Pharmacy. Within two years, she became an instructor. After various promotions and an additional graduate education, Calley became a tenured professor at MCV in 1971. She was appointed Instructor in Anatomy in 1972 and received her PhD in Anatomy from MCV in 1973. She was promoted to Assistant Professor of Anatomy in 1976 and then Associate Professor in 1990. She retired in 1996, but continued teaching part-time until July 2009. She was 83 when she gave her last lecture. Although she never found a cure for migraines during her six decades as a medical educator, she taught and inspired thousands of young medical students (receiving numerous awards for teaching excellence) and hoped that one day one of them would find a cure.

Calley spent much of her free time in her nineties working in her famously beautiful garden, exercising, mending fences, creating brick walkways, making jewelry and whittling wonderful creations in her woodworking shop. She produced hundreds of handmade ornaments each year for friends and family which will be a sorely missed holiday tradition for all the recipients. She also enjoyed the symphony, the opera, the Outer Banks, traveling and desserts in general.

She is survived by her sister, Sarah Goode Gregory of Roanoke, VA; her four children, Greer Palmer Jackson, Jr. (Kathy) of Richmond, VA, Nancy Jackson Lee (Lauris) of Cary, NC, Morton Goode Jackson (Celia Stokes) of Berkeley, CA and Caroline “Kitty” Edwards (Terry) of Montpelier, VA; her nine grandchildren, Mary Nell Almon Jackson, of Richmond, VA, Anne Waring Jackson Johnson (Jay), of Lexington VA, Claire Caitlin Jackson Elingburg (Greg) of Midlothian, VA, Lauris Jon Lee, Jr. (Rene) of Helena, AL, Elizabeth Greer Lee McNab (Adam) of Cumming, GA, Matthew Kinlaw Lee (Julia) of Virginia Beach, VA, Jonah M. Jackson (Leticia) of Charlottesville, VA, Graham Jackson of Fairfax, VA and Christopher Marshall Thurgood of Richmond, VA; nine great-grandchildren, Jack and Emma Johnson, Miles Elingburg, Ian and Addison Lee, Jackson and Carter McNab, Henry and Lola Lee; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Over her last few days, she was surrounded by her family and visited by many of her cherished friends who came to squeeze her hand and share their special memories of having Calley in their lives. She died peacefully on August 7, 2019.

The family would like to thank the staff at Sunrise of Richmond, Parham Road, especially Ronshanda Bowman and Kayrin Archer for their wonderful care. Thanks also go to Mary Cantwell from Hospice Community Care for her many kindnesses.

Friends and family are invited to gather in Celebration of Calley’s life on Saturday, October 19th at the Virginia House, 4301 Sulgrave Rd, Richmond VA 23221, from 2-4pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice.