Anne Oliver Jackson

Yarmouth, ME- With sadness, we announce the unexpected passing of Anne Oliver Jackson on Tuesday, September 28, 2021 in Portland, Maine, surrounded by family. She is survived by her four children: Lee Warner (Hans Warner, children Chase and Morgan) of Portland, Bill Jackson (Jackie Holen, children Claire and Arlena) of San Francisco, Carol Miller (children Seth, Annie, and Will) of Portland, and David Jackson (Kathrin Jackson, children Isabel and Oliver) of Seattle, as well as sister Peggy Hedeman and brothers David Oliver (Christina Oliver) and Tom Oliver (Ann Oliver), and Simba, the last of a long line of yellow labs.

Anne was married for 63 years to William R. (“Dick”) Jackson, who passed away last year, and to whom she was dedicated through thick and thin. Anne and Dick cultivated a high-energy, adventurous, and tight family culture. In Sewickley, Pennsylvania, the family bonded while playing paddle tennis, mending split-rail fences, raking leaves, and celebrating birthdays over fondue. Through these experiences, the kids came to appreciate the importance of hard work and the value of sticking together as a family. The children also fondly remember the annual Memorial Day picnics and the epic tennis match with the “male chauvinists.”

Each summer, the family gathered with the extended Oliver clan in Small Point, Maine, where the schedule was full: before-breakfast swim, tennis, noon swim, cookout, sailing on the family boat Minicoy, and a song-fest after dinner. In recent years, Anne made it a point to slow things down, drawing her children and grandchildren into meandering beach walks and quiet conversation. Anne’s children remember her lifelong commitment to their growth and success in every dimension. Through her actions and words, Anne taught them that listening is more important than speaking; all people deserve dignity and respect; and good fortune is to be liberally shared.

Anne was an accomplished civic leader who worked to strengthen the governance of educational and philanthropic institutions. In the late 1970s, she became the first female board chair of Sewickley Academy and served as vice chair of the board of governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. After moving to Maine a decade later, she launched her own consulting business advising nonprofit leaders on strategic planning and board governance. She co-founded The Board Network, which recruited and trained nonprofit board members, and served as board chair of the Maine Community Foundation and president of the Portland Museum of Art, as well as a board member at Phillips Andover Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, Waynflete, Kieve Wavus, and Hurricane Island Outward Bound School.

Colleagues and friends remember her gentle, focused way of engaging with others; her insight into complicated interpersonal dynamics; her ability to get a lot done while also having a good time; and for her “artful way of guiding while apparently just conversing.” As a civic leader, Anne focused on the process of decision-making as much as on the result. She helped nonprofit boards diversify their membership and develop into more than the sum of their parts.

Born in 1935 in Montclair, New Jersey, the first daughter of Rowland Grant and Ruth Morgan Oliver, Anne grew up in New Canaan, CT. She graduated from Abbot Academy and earned a B.A. in Government at Smith College in 1957. Brothers Tom and David recall Anne as the quintessential older sister who excelled at sports and steadied the crew as their father skippered a chartered schooner through the terrifying ordeal of Hurricane Carol in 1954. She has been a steadying influence in the extended Oliver family ever since.

In recent years, Anne increasingly embraced her identities as caregiver, friend, parishioner, sister, and neighbor, as she cared for husband Dick through years of illness; connected with old and new friends; participated in the Justice and Outreach Ministry at Foreside Community Church; deepened her relationships with siblings on sailing trips; and delighted in the humor and mutual care shared among Burbank Lane neighbors.

Anne was a “forever learner” who fused her mother’s commitment to self-improvement with her father’s positive energy and good humor. Over the course of five decades, she learned how to balance unwavering commitment to family with an extraordinary range of civic commitments; how to liberate the maximum possible collective wisdom and energy in nonprofit boardrooms often dominated by male egos; and, especially in her later years, how to evolve her natural instinct for judging into deep understanding and acceptance of others. Throughout her life, Anne forged highly personal connections while also inviting a diverse range of people into her many circles—in service of lifelong learning, philanthropy, and friendship.

A private service will be held Saturday, October 16 at 11 am, streamed online at https://www.foresidechurch.org/index.php/worship-online/. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in Anne’s honor to: Preble Street (preblestreet.org), an organization dedicated to empowering people experiencing homelessness and poverty in Maine, or to the Maine Coast Heritage Trust (mcht.org) an organization dedicated to keeping the Maine coast healthy, open, and beautiful.