Lenora Mary Jackson

Lenora came into this world on September 7, 1937, born at home in Galena, Illinois. She was the 6th child of 12 with a very balanced family of 6 girls and 6 boys. She graduated from Warren High School in June of 1955. She worked at a small grocery store in Warren for a couple of years until a friend of hers moved to California. Lenora decided that sounded good to her, so with no driver’s license and no car, her parents drove her to California. This happened some time between 1958 and 1961. As of now, no one can quite recall when Lenora’s great adventure west started.

Once in California she attended the Baltimore Beauty College and obtained her Hairdressing and Cosmetology diploma on August 18, 1962. She also attended Orange Coast College and received a certificate of completion for Grocery Merchandising on January 17, 1964. She was able to support herself with her new-found profession as a hairdresser. At some point time in time after that, Lenora took up square dancing with a group known as “The Single Bees”. This is where she met the love of her life, Donald Jackson. They took a real liking to each other and started dating and after a few years they were married on April 27, 1974. After they were married, they bought a house in Santa Ana, where they spent the rest of their days together.

Together Don and Lenora enjoyed square dancing, lawn bowling, and traveling. Don and Lenora were married for 38 years until Don’s passing in April of 2012.

Lenora embraced Don’s children, Allen and Lori. She was ultimately the grandmother to 4 children, and the great grandmother to 8 children.

Lenora also volunteered at the Retreat Center for many years and attended the Christ Our Savior Catholic Church for all the years she lived in California.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Fairhaven Memorial Park Mortuary, Waverley Chapel, located at 1702 Fairhaven Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92705, United States. The service is scheduled for October 15, 2025, from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm.

A Committal Service will follow at Fairhaven Memorial Park & Mortuary, 1702 Fairhaven Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705, United States, on October 15, 2025, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm.