Ruthe Jackson (October 29, 1920 - August 9, 2013) was an American community organizer. She held a seat on the city council of

Grand Prairie, Texas Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it t ...

, and produced and hosted the longest-running

Public-access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...

show in Texas. She was considered by many to be the matriarch of

Biography

Early life and education

Jackson was born October 29, 1920, in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, the oldest daughter of Florence Ector Thompson and John Lyle Thompson. Her family moved to

Grand Prairie Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it th ...

in 1931 and she graduated from Sunset High School in 1938. Jackson completed certificate work at Fort Worth Christian College and Christian College of the Southwest and earned professional parliamentarian certification from

La Salle Extension University La Salle Extension University (LSEUDe Sola, Ralph (1981). ''Abbreviations dictionary.'' Elsevier, ), also styled as LaSalle Extension University,The university styled its name as both "La Salle" and "LaSalle" in print mediahttp://aycu21.webshots.c ...

in 1972.

Career

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Jackson worked at North American Aviation, Inc. in Grand Prairie. After the war and a short time working at Sargent & Sowell Co. Ruthe co-founded All-Quality Sign & Mfg.Co. with Ernest Seymour. They specialized in silk screened metal signs. In 1947, along with husband Vernon Jackson, they formed Jackson Vending Supply, Inc. A successful distributor of vending machines and equipment till they sold the business in 1998. Ruthe stayed employed with the company that became Product Sales, Inc. as a

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

Public Relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

Consultant. Jackson served as a Dallas County School Board member from 1975–1992, representing Community District 4. Beginning in 1980, she began producing and hosting the public-access television series ''It's Happening in Grand Prairie'', still in production, later adding ''It Happened in Grand Prairie'', a series of history interviews, beginning in 1985, and various specials including "Women in History" documentaries. Jackson was elected to the Texas State Board of Education in 1984 but did not get to serve as the Legislature canceled the elected board and appointed the entire State Board. She was first elected to the Grand Prairie City Council in 1985, serving on the council's Place 5 and as mayor pro-tem in 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1990 before her term ended in 1991. In 1993 she was re-elected, this time to Place 7 on the council, and served as mayor pro-tem again in 1999 and 2002. As a council member, Jackson served on the Safety Health & Environment Committee and as the Trinity Trails representative for Council. In 1994 she was appointed co-chairman of the closure operation of

Naval Air Station Dallas A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

, presenting a NAS Dallas service plaque at the closure ceremony in 1998. Jackson has been a member of and held leadership positions in many associations related to her interests and vocation, including city and county historical commissions; city, state, and the

National Association of Parliamentarians The National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP) says that it provides services and products to help its members and others to learn how to proceed with and manage meetings of assemblies such as school boards, homeowners associations, church b ...

; the Grand Prairie Chamber of Commerce;

Keep America Beautiful Keep America Beautiful is a nonprofit organization founded in 1953. It is the largest community improvement organization in the United States, with more than 700 state and community-based affiliate organizations and more than 1,000 partner organiz ...

and Keep Texas Beautiful; PTA, holding Life Membership in both the Texas PTA and National PTA; and

Soroptimist Soroptimist International (SI) is a global volunteer service organization for women with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries worldwide. According to Soroptimist.org, their mission statement says that, "Soroptimist is a global volunteer organiza ...

Marriage and children

In 1944, while working at North American, Ruthe met and married Vernon Jackson. They had two daughters, Xanna Jackson Young and Jorja Jackson Clemson, who is now a council member of District 1 in Grand Prairie, and several grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Death

Jackson died on August 9, 2013, aged 92.

Awards and honors

*1977: Lady Bird Johnson Environmental Award, Keep America Beautiful *1985: Woman of Distinction Award, Soroptimist International of the Americas *1990: Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary *1991: Vernon & Ruthe Jackson Day named March 5, 1991, Texas Legislature Session, House Resolution #270, by State Representative Bill Arnold *1992: Day-Jackson Educational Facility renaming *1992: Outdoor Learning Center in Turner Park renamed the Ruthe & Vernon Jackson Outdoor Learning Center *1998: Outstanding Community Volunteer Award, Keep America Beautiful *2000: Texas Community Forestry Award of Merit, by Texas Forest Service, Texas Urban Forestry Council & Texas Chapter of the International Society of Arborculture *2001: National Award for Excellence in Community Service, National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution *2001: Vernon & Ruthe Jackson "House Concurrent Resolution No 126, February 21, 2001, adopted by the House and Senate bodies commending same for outstanding community service by the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas, sponsored by State Representatives Ray Allen and Toby Goodman and State Senator Jane Nelson. *2002: State of Texas Senate Proclamation #1294 for community service, presented by Senator Royce West *2002: opening of Ruthe Jackson Center, a community center in Grand Prairie *2005: Robert M. Artz Award for Citizen Volunteer and Leadership Contributions, National Recreation and Parks Association *2008:

President's Volunteer Service Award The President's Volunteer Service Award is a civil award bestowed by the President of the United States. Established by executive order by George W. Bush, the award was established to honor volunteers that give hundreds of hours per year helping ...

References

External links

Ruthe Jackson Center

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Ruthe 1920 births 2013 deaths American members of the Churches of Christ Texas Independents People from Grand Prairie, Texas Texas city council members Women city councillors in Texas 21st-century American women