Nell Oden Jackson

FORT WORTH, FORMERLY OF TYLER — Every Mom is special; and in that, they are all the same. This is how our mom was special to us, her sons, Dan and Mike.

In a teaching by example moment, when Dan was very young and expressed an interest in coffee and cigarettes, she provided both to try for himself which at that age gave the desired result, a life-long aversion to both.

When a limb snapped in our backyard tree and Dan fell to the ground, our mom came out of the house like a bolt of lightning, some sort of psychic awareness that only mothers have sending her to wrap her arms around him, scoop him up, and rush him to the hospital.

When our friends came to our house after school and lowered their voices as they leaned forward to share a dirty joke, Mike knowing our mom, called her over to join us so that she didn’t miss a good thing.

She helped with homework, staying up late to figure out the ‘extra credit’ math problems; then waking us at 1:30am to show us how to do them so that we could take credit in class the next day thus helping to create the academic reputation we enjoyed.

She created Star Trek uniforms for our G.I. Joes, made stuffed Santa Claus decorations for our teachers every year of elementary school, and no store bought Halloween costumes for us. She sewed them every year, gladly taking direction and fulfilling every wish. She introduced us to classic children’s literature (a life long passion for her) and a million other things mothers do for their children.

She was born in Tyler, Texas April 8th, 1940, to John and Lois Oden. She graduated Tyler High School in 1958, attended SMU with an English major where she met and married, Donald Jackson. Life’s journey took her from Dallas to Madison, Wisconsin; Pocatello, Idaho; and Bethesda, Maryland before settling in Fort Worth for the rest of her days.

She enjoyed books, movies, museums, flea markets and travel, especially to England. She went through a dozen cats in her lifetime and finished off with a Yorkie dog named Deuce. She loved to take her daughter-in-law, her grandson, and us to the latest exhibit at the Amon Carter and eat at the Paris Coffee Shop, preferably on Wednesday when they served grilled chicken livers. Progressive congestive heart failure and home hospice care gave us a last spring and summer together with laughter and tales, reading aloud from the “Swallows and Amazons” books, and dinners on the back porch by citronella candle, followed by the sun setting as she watched her grandson play. She held on for Christmas (always her favorite time of year) with her fierce will power and passed on the evening of New Year’s Day, surrounded by those nearest and dearest to her.

Mom saw the world simply as right and wrong, good and bad, with no shades of gray. She was always, always, always for the underdog. She could be cantankerous in the true Texan style, yet empathetic to a fault without being cloying. She could tear up watching news of complete strangers and choke back a sob as she related the story to you. Mom loved fully, and was loved fully in return. She is survived by her twin sons, Dan and Mike, her daughter-in-law Eve, and her grandson Tyler, who all miss her very much and in whose hearts she will live forever. She was our mother and very special indeed.

Graveside services were held on Friday, January 8, 2021 at 2:00 PM at Rose Hill Cemetery in Tyler with Dr. Chris Pulliam officiating.

Donations in her memory can be made to the Presbyterian Night Shelter of Tarrant County, Texas. To view online, please go to www.burkswalkertippit.com.