Allan Jackson

Allan Jackson was a modest man, quiet and observant in his ways. He was trustworthy and traditional in his approach to his life and in his relationships. He was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew him. He was also a man who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything he undertook. Realistic about life, he was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

      Allan was born on January 14, 1937 at Straffordville in Ontario. His parents were Margaret and Clayton. Allan was raised in Straffordville, Ontario. His mother was a teacher and his father was a tobacco farmer. He was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve him well throughout his life.

      Growing up in the Jackson household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Allan was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and he was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Allan was raised with two siblings. His brothers were Larry and Paul. Allan was constantly involved in activities with his brothers. Allan and his siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Allan was always consistently loyal to his family.

      As a young child, Allan was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. He wasn’t pushy and never forced his way into games or other activities. Allan developed a variety of interests, though, and the things he enjoyed doing he did well. He was always curious about the world around him and was often eager to explore it. Allan took part in football and he was a Boy Scout. In his spare time he liked stamp collecting and piano. However, what Allan enjoyed most was simply playing and spending time with his many friends.

      While his teachers and even his friends generally thought of Allan as being a serious person, he managed to have a pretty good time in high school as he made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. He graduated from Annindale High in 1955. He enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. His favorite class in high school was science. He also played on the high school football team. Allan was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using his exceptional memory, he was able to learn much through observation. Allan always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though he could easily master any problem that might be presented to him.

      College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but Allan handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, Allan was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete his class work. He seemed to thrive on college reading assignments, something that often bogged down his classmates. Allan was able to read the material and retain the information in a way that impressed his fellow classmates. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served Allan well during his college experience. He earned his BA at Queens in 1959. His favorite courses were math and science. He continued to enjoy playing football.

      Always considered to be a solid friend, Allan was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during his life. Since he disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw his own conclusions based on direct observation, Allan was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew him. He was committed to his friends and valued the trust he placed in them. It was not uncommon for Allan to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought him out for advice because he had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, some of his best friends were Cyril Demeyere, Doug Lavallee and Leo Laviolette.

In 1960 Allan married Carolyn Young and they were marrried for 13 years and had four boys. They were Brian, Jeff, Larry and Bob. In 1973 Carolyn passed away.

      On May 28, 1976 Allan exchanged wedding vows with Wanda D'Angelo at the First Baptist church - and the marriage was Blessed in the Catholic Church in 1978 of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Compassionate and devoted to Wanda, Allan held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Wanda and using his gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, he worked hard to make his new family happy.

      Allan brought the same traditional values in his marriage to bear on how he raised his children. He was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in his dealings. He would always listen carefully and think things through before he acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Allan was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Allan was blessed with seven children, four sons, Brian, Jeff, Larry, Bob and the adoption of Wandas children a son Ben and two daughters Christine and Victoria which completed their family. They were also blessed with ten grandchildren, Sarah, Amy, Matthew, Andrew, Hannah, Lauren, Maria, Rebecca, Julia and Abigail.

      Allan greatly enjoyed what he did for a living. He was a hard worker who expected the same in return from his co-workers. He was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Allan enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Allan was excellent at meeting deadlines. He was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. His primary occupation was CEO for the City of Sault Ste. Marie. He was employed for 35 years. Allan worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

      Allan liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into his hobbies, where he was very methodical in how he organized his activities and categorized things. Since he enjoyed his private time, Allan always tried to allocate a specific time for working on his hobbies. His favorite pursuits were golf. Allan was content to enjoy his hobbies with his family.

      Allan found pleasure in sports. Being a person who was comfortable making win/lose decisions throughout life, he could appreciate that athletes made those types of decisions in sports. He applauded those who won, and he enjoyed the statistical data and sports facts and could find himself wrapped up in those details. In high school, Allan played football. He would watch his favorite sporting events whenever he got the opportunity. Tops on his list were hockey, tennis, golf and formula one racing.

      As a man who always showed great commitment to the things he believed in, it’s little wonder that Allan was so active in his community. Being practical and mentally disciplined, Allan preferred to base his decisions on first-hand experiences. Allan was never afraid to roll up his sleeves and dig right in. Politically, Allan was P. C.

      Allan was a man who was dedicated and devoted to his faith. He was a member St. Gerard Majella for 30 years and St. Jeromes for 7 years. During that time, he served on Parish Counsel. He was a sympathetic man who valued his beliefs and was willing to work tirelessly for them.

      Allan enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. The Truckey's who were friends of Allan and Wandas introduced them to their favourite vacation spot which was Orange Beach in Alabama. They introduced it to many of their friends from Sault Ste. Marie and that was the gathering spot for 16 years. They made many friends while vacationing there.

      When Allan’s retirement finally arrived in 1996, he was well prepared. He always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things he knew, so he was very confident in planning his retirement. His new life involved relocating to Alabama from January to April. In retirement, he found new pleasure in the gym and golf. Even in retirement, Allan continued to stay in touch with his old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. He was active in his new community and felt fulfilled.

      Allan Jackson passed away on June 20, 2013 at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He had a blood disease for 30 years and later suffered alzheimers disease and a stroke.

      Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Allan Jackson. He was committed to living the life of a good man who was both practical and trustworthy. He was committed to the traditional values that he upheld his entire life. He committed himself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around him. Most of all, he was committed to those he knew and loved.

JACKSON, Allan Ambrose – Peacefully at home with family on Thursday, June 20, 2013 at the age of 76. Beloved husband of Wanda Jackson (nee D’Angelo) and the late Carolyn Ann Jackson (nee Young 1973). Loving father of Benjamin Jackson, Brian and Penelope (Astles) Jackson, Jeffrey Jackson, Larry and Kelly (MacDonald) Jackson, Christine Westland (Jackson), Robert and Amy (Fabiano) Jackson, and Victoria Jackson and Scott Cudney. Devoted grandfather of Sarah, Matthew, Julia, Lauren, Rebecca, Amy, Andrew, Hannah, Maria and Abigail. Dear brother of Paul (Shirley) and the late Larry (Taye). Allan graduated from Queen’s University in 1959 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He retired in 1996 from the City of Sault Ste. Marie as Chief Administrative Officer after 35 years of service. Allan was well known in the community with his involvement with different organizations. He was past President of the Ontario Municipal Administrators’ Association (1987-1988), past President of the Ontario Good Roads Association (1985-1986), past President of the Ontario Municipal Engineers Association (1973-1974), past Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, past Director of the Pollution Control Association of Ontario (now Water Environment Association of Ontario), past Member of the Joint International Bridge Authority Board of Directors (2000-2004), past Member and Director of the St. Mary’s River Bridge Company, past Member and Chair of the Board of the Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology, past Member of the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre; Chair of the Board of Trustees and Member of the Board of Directors, past Member of the Sault Ste. Marie United Way Board of Directors, Member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario from 1960-2008, past Chapter Chair of the Algoma Engineers Association, past President of the Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie (1991-1992); member since 1984; District Area Representative (1993-1995); Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow and Member of the Sault Ste. Marie Lakeshore Kiwanis Club (1967-1972). Friends may call at the Arthur Funeral Home & Cremation Centre on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 from 2 – 4 and 7 – 9 pm. Funeral Mass celebrated from St. Jerome’s Catholic Church on Thursday, July 4, 2013 at 10 am. Msgr. Victor Amadio officiating. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Memorial contributions to the Alzheimer Society or the SAH Foundation would be appreciated by the family. Expressions of sympathy may be offered at www.arthurfuneralhome.com

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JACKSON, Allan Ambrose – Peacefully at home with family on Thursday, June 20, 2013 at the age of 76. Beloved husband of Wanda Jackson (nee D’Angelo) and the late Carolyn Ann Jackson (nee Young 1973). Loving father of Benjamin Jackson, Brian and Penelope (Astles) Jackson, Jeffrey Jackson, Larry and Kelly (MacDonald) Jackson, Christine Westland (Jackson), Robert and Amy (Fabiano) Jackson, and Victoria Jackson and Scott Cudney. Devoted grandfather of Sarah, Matthew, Julia, Lauren, Rebecca, Amy, Andrew, Hannah, Maria and Abigail. Dear brother of Paul (Shirley) and the late Larry (Taye). Allan graduated from Queen’s University in 1959 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He retired in 1996 from the City of Sault Ste. Marie as Chief Administrative Officer after 35 years of service. Allan was well known in the community with his involvement with different organizations. He was past President of the Ontario Municipal Administrators’ Association (1987-1988), past President of the Ontario Good Roads Association (1985-1986), past President of the Ontario Municipal Engineers Association (1973-1974), past Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, past Director of the Pollution Control Association of Ontario (now Water Environment Association of Ontario), past Member of the Joint International Bridge Authority Board of Directors (2000-2004), past Member and Director of the St. Mary’s River Bridge Company, past Member and Chair of the Board of the Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology, past Member of the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre; Chair of the Board of Trustees and Member of the Board of Directors, past Member of the Sault Ste. Marie United Way Board of Directors, Member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario from 1960-2008, past Chapter Chair of the Algoma Engineers Association, past President of the Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie (1991-1992); member since 1984; District Area Representative (1993-1995); Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow and Member of the Sault Ste. Marie Lakeshore Kiwanis Club (1967-1972). Friends may call at the Arthur Funeral Home & Cremation Centre on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 from 2 – 4 and 7 – 9 pm. Funeral Mass celebrated from St. Jerome’s Catholic Church on Thursday, July 4, 2013 at 10 am. Msgr. Victor Amadio officiating. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Memorial contributions to the Alzheimer Society or the SAH Foundation would be appreciated by the family. Expressions of sympathy may be offered at www.arthurfuneralhome.com