Jorge Felix Jackson

Jorge Felix Jackson, devoted and loving husband to Susie, passed away on August 27, 2026, at the age of 74. He was a kind, generous, and caring man, sometimes quiet but also very funny, with a quirky sense of humor and a huge heart. In his own understated way, he displayed incredible faithfulness and courage that carried him through periods of adversity in his life, including the severe health challenges he faced in recent years.

Jorge was born in San Antonio on September 2, 1951. He attended St. Joseph’s Elementary School, La Salle Catholic High School until its closure, and then graduated from Harlandale High School in 1969. A talented pitcher, Jorge attended Ranger College with hopes of ultimately playing professional baseball, only to have his baseball career cut short by injury. Faced with this disappointment, Jorge joined the United States Air Force in 1972 and served until 1978. This included stints in Italy and Okinawa as a Morse Code operator. In the years after, he surprised family and friends from time to time by making comments in Italian – which he had learned during his time in the service.

Jorge and Susie married on June 16, 1984, the start to what would become over 42 years of a deeply loving and supportive relationship. Theirs was a true union, and they shared an abiding love for each other. They persevered through the hard seasons of marriage, and were rewarded with many years of extraordinary happiness. They became the perfect complement for each other and best friends.

Together, they owned and operated Chad’s Rainbow for six years, a store that sold teaching materials and toys for all children, but especially those with special needs. Through this experience, Jorge fell in love with working with children and realized what a difference he could make in their lives. That inspired Jorge to go back to school at St. Mary’s University, earn his degree and become an elementary school teacher. He had found his life’s vocational heart and calling. His students would find that he always worked his way into their hearts, too.

Jorge started his teaching career at Northside School District in 1993, with most of his time spent at Lawrence Powell Elementary teaching second grade. He taught at Powell until his retirement from full-time teaching in 2010. During that time, he built special relationships with his students, their families, and fellow teachers. He continued to substitute teach, often in special needs and behavioral management classes, until 2015. His deeply caring, playful, and somewhat quirky approach to teaching had a positive impact on many young lives.

Jorge’s talents were not limited to the classroom. He was an amazing photographer. He loved nature and he loved people – and he loved to photograph both. His photos reflect not only his love of nature and people but also his compassion, humor and quirkiness. Jorge has left us with thousands of beautiful photos of nature – from national parks to the Jackson’s own backyard. He learned the migratory patterns of birds and butterflies so he could “capture” them digitally as they came through their yard each year. Susie and Jorge cherished their perennial vacations together with family at the YMCA of the Rockies and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Jorge loved all sports, especially Astros baseball, and had a lifetime Love/Hate relationship with the Dallas Cowboys. But most of all, he loved the Spurs! He watched their games while decked out in all of his Spurs’ gear and loved all things Spurs, from his house slippers to his license plate. He also loved joining Susie in walks around their Camino Bandera neighborhood, visiting with old and new friends along the way. He continued to do so up until the last week of his life. His neighborhood friends and acquaintances were a source of great joy to him.

In the last years of his life, Jorge suffered from a mysterious, undiagnosed, degenerative neurological disease. Early this spring, he finally received a diagnosis of Spinocerebellar Ataxia, also known as SCA 8. It is a very rare disease for which there is no cure and is in its very early stages of research. Within a few weeks of that diagnosis, Jorge was also diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. Faced with these diagnoses, Jorge chose to live with courage and determination to make every day count, to seek and make JOY the focus and thread of his life, instead of the devastation of the diseases.

Jorge had a deep and quiet faith in God, Jesus as his Savior, and a true confidence about his eternal destiny. He was not afraid to die, but he fought very hard to live each day that he was graciously given. He knew that his ability to persevere and keep fighting was enabled by the prayers lifted up by so many of his family, friends, and even strangers on his behalf. He was immensely grateful for this.

Jorge was predeceased by his father, Jose Vela Jackson, and his mother, Eva Olivares Jackson. He is survived by his wife, Susan Sullivan Jackson; brother Joseph Jackson and his wife Shirley, sisters Eunice Rita Jackson and Lisa Jackson Johnson and Lisa’s husband John; in-laws Jennifer Sullivan, Colleen and Rob Taylor, and Barry and Shannon Sullivan; and by nieces and nephews Jennifer, Jessica, Aaron, Nathan, Lucas, Valerie, Danielle, Dalton, Gabriela, Tristana, Caitlin, Kimberly, Justin, Alli and Abi.

Susie and the family give special thanks to caregivers Dr. Whitney Bettenhouse, Dr. Jeff Svec and staff, Dr. Emily Pineda, NP Sarah Erskine, RN Brooke Franks, RN Kimberly Pardo, UT Health Palliative Care, UT Health Geneticist Julia Castro, and dear friend Gary Avins.

In lieu of flowers, it was Jorge’s wish that donations be made to the National Ataxia Foundation (www.ataxia.org) to fund research on SCA 8 and offer support to families and individuals who suffer from this very rare genetic disease.