Obituary for Joyce Darlene Hall Jackson
Joyce Darlene Hall Jackson (“Darlene”), beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and resident of Newtown for over fifty years, died on December 14th after a fall in her home the previous week. She will be missed dearly by her family, her many friends and her community at the Newtown Congregational Church, where she was an active member.
Darlene was born on January 2nd, 1936 to Irene and Arious Zollie Hall in Pomona, California. She grew up in a house built by her father and uncle in a then-unincorporated area of Los Angeles. Darlene excelled in everything she tried. She played the accordion competitively throughout most of her teens. After skipping a grade, she graduated as class president and valedictorian of Bell High School in 1953. Rumor has it that she was the first female class president in Los Angeles County.
Darlene had always known that she wanted a career in journalism, and she earned a full scholarship to the University of Southern California to pursue her goal, becoming the first in her family to graduate from college. While in college she wrote for the school newspaper, was elected to Mortar Board Honor Society and joined the sorority A O Pi, which became a large part of her college life, and about which she later told many stories. Years later, her granddaughter Sydney Jackson would join the sisterhood and become a member of the A O Pi at the University of Maine, which meant a great deal to Darlene. She graduated with honors and left USC to enroll in the Masters of Journalism program at Columbia University.
There was only one other Californian in the 1957 class at “J school,” and after their first date under the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, she and Donald Dale Jackson quickly became a pair and, in all ways, partners for life. Darlene had originally planned to pursue journalism in South Africa after graduation, but after falling in love with Don, they went back to California together, where he was drafted. During his time in the service, they married “on a weekend pass,” as the story goes, in Carmel, California, while Don was stationed at Fort Ord. Darlene wrote for various local newspapers as she and Don moved from San Francisco to Cambridge to Wisconsin, finally settling in New Jersey when Don started working for Life Magazine.
Darlene and Don were partners in all parts of life; they played tennis together, they enjoyed music together, he on the harmonica and bongos and she on the accordion, they played hearts and charades together and hosted an annual Christmas party in Newtown, where they moved in 1969. Don was a prolific and successful writer, and Darlene was the first editor on every piece he wrote. Their children Dale and Amy knew to leave their parents alone when Darlene went through Don’s pieces, typed double spaced on an Olympia typewriter on yellow legal paper, making revisions and corrections.
In 1965, while still in New Jersey, Darlene gave birth to Dale Allen Jackson, and Amy Jackson Ayala followed in 1967. In 1969, they moved to a house up a long driveway six miles out of the center of Newtown…the house she lived in until the day she died.
Those who knew Darlene all agree that she had one overwhelming quality: tenacity. Anything she endeavored to do, she simply put her head down and did. As her children would say, “there was no ‘no.’” Her ability to focus her mind on a goal and then plow through until it was achieved was legendary, much envied, and fail-proof. Both of her children feel lucky to have inherited this quality.
Darlene never entered a project she didn’t dedicate herself to 110%, beginning with a volunteer position at Camp Fire, Inc., which led in quick succession to her becoming executive director of the Camp Fire Council, a position she maintained until the Council closed in 1991. She volunteered for countless school programs, and continued to work many volunteer hours at Camp Fire, well beyond the work hours her job required. She ran the summer camp, Camp ShuTaWin, for a number of years, constantly worked on the necessary fundraising a nonprofit requires, including grants, candy sales and other initiatives. Her hallmark tenacity ensured that the council stayed afloat during many social changes that threatened an organization dependent on volunteers.
Her volunteerism did not stop with Camp Fire. She was a member of The United Way board, various committees at the Newtown Congregational Church, Meals on Wheels, a committee member at Church Woman United, and numerous advocacy programs devoted to helping those less fortunate than herself.
Darlene was a devout member of the Newtown Congregational Church, but she always taught her children that every faith was “just a different path toward the same god.” She was ahead of her time in terms of religious tolerance, sustainability, and women’s rights, among other things. For as long as her children can remember, Darlene would sort their bottles and then drive them to the dump, where they played a game of throwing each bottle, by color, into different bins.
Her husband Don mostly called her “Rascal,” but also once said she was a “whirling dervish of do-goodery.” The world needs more Darlenes, and the passing of this rascal has left a vacuum that will be felt by many for a long time to come.
Darlene is survived by her son Dale Jackson, his wife Kathi, their children Mackenzie Acker, Lindsey and Sydney, her daughter Amy Jackson Ayala, her husband Rob, and their children Boone and Eliza. Darlene is also survived by her great-grandchildren Adalyn and Owen Acker. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Donald in 2006.
A service of remembrance and thanksgiving will be held at the Newtown Congregational Church on Thursday, December 29th at 2:00 pm. All are welcome. In honor of Darlene and her love of bright colors, the family requests that you wear bright colors to celebrate Darlene.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made either to the Newtown Congregational Church or to the ASPCA.
Darlene was born on January 2nd, 1936 to Irene and Arious Zollie Hall in Pomona, California. She grew up in a house built by her father and uncle in a then-unincorporated area of Los Angeles. Darlene excelled in everything she tried. She played the accordion competitively throughout most of her teens. After skipping a grade, she graduated as class president and valedictorian of Bell High School in 1953. Rumor has it that she was the first female class president in Los Angeles County.
Darlene had always known that she wanted a career in journalism, and she earned a full scholarship to the University of Southern California to pursue her goal, becoming the first in her family to graduate from college. While in college she wrote for the school newspaper, was elected to Mortar Board Honor Society and joined the sorority A O Pi, which became a large part of her college life, and about which she later told many stories. Years later, her granddaughter Sydney Jackson would join the sisterhood and become a member of the A O Pi at the University of Maine, which meant a great deal to Darlene. She graduated with honors and left USC to enroll in the Masters of Journalism program at Columbia University.
There was only one other Californian in the 1957 class at “J school,” and after their first date under the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, she and Donald Dale Jackson quickly became a pair and, in all ways, partners for life. Darlene had originally planned to pursue journalism in South Africa after graduation, but after falling in love with Don, they went back to California together, where he was drafted. During his time in the service, they married “on a weekend pass,” as the story goes, in Carmel, California, while Don was stationed at Fort Ord. Darlene wrote for various local newspapers as she and Don moved from San Francisco to Cambridge to Wisconsin, finally settling in New Jersey when Don started working for Life Magazine.
Darlene and Don were partners in all parts of life; they played tennis together, they enjoyed music together, he on the harmonica and bongos and she on the accordion, they played hearts and charades together and hosted an annual Christmas party in Newtown, where they moved in 1969. Don was a prolific and successful writer, and Darlene was the first editor on every piece he wrote. Their children Dale and Amy knew to leave their parents alone when Darlene went through Don’s pieces, typed double spaced on an Olympia typewriter on yellow legal paper, making revisions and corrections.
In 1965, while still in New Jersey, Darlene gave birth to Dale Allen Jackson, and Amy Jackson Ayala followed in 1967. In 1969, they moved to a house up a long driveway six miles out of the center of Newtown…the house she lived in until the day she died.
Those who knew Darlene all agree that she had one overwhelming quality: tenacity. Anything she endeavored to do, she simply put her head down and did. As her children would say, “there was no ‘no.’” Her ability to focus her mind on a goal and then plow through until it was achieved was legendary, much envied, and fail-proof. Both of her children feel lucky to have inherited this quality.
Darlene never entered a project she didn’t dedicate herself to 110%, beginning with a volunteer position at Camp Fire, Inc., which led in quick succession to her becoming executive director of the Camp Fire Council, a position she maintained until the Council closed in 1991. She volunteered for countless school programs, and continued to work many volunteer hours at Camp Fire, well beyond the work hours her job required. She ran the summer camp, Camp ShuTaWin, for a number of years, constantly worked on the necessary fundraising a nonprofit requires, including grants, candy sales and other initiatives. Her hallmark tenacity ensured that the council stayed afloat during many social changes that threatened an organization dependent on volunteers.
Her volunteerism did not stop with Camp Fire. She was a member of The United Way board, various committees at the Newtown Congregational Church, Meals on Wheels, a committee member at Church Woman United, and numerous advocacy programs devoted to helping those less fortunate than herself.
Darlene was a devout member of the Newtown Congregational Church, but she always taught her children that every faith was “just a different path toward the same god.” She was ahead of her time in terms of religious tolerance, sustainability, and women’s rights, among other things. For as long as her children can remember, Darlene would sort their bottles and then drive them to the dump, where they played a game of throwing each bottle, by color, into different bins.
Her husband Don mostly called her “Rascal,” but also once said she was a “whirling dervish of do-goodery.” The world needs more Darlenes, and the passing of this rascal has left a vacuum that will be felt by many for a long time to come.
Darlene is survived by her son Dale Jackson, his wife Kathi, their children Mackenzie Acker, Lindsey and Sydney, her daughter Amy Jackson Ayala, her husband Rob, and their children Boone and Eliza. Darlene is also survived by her great-grandchildren Adalyn and Owen Acker. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Donald in 2006.
A service of remembrance and thanksgiving will be held at the Newtown Congregational Church on Thursday, December 29th at 2:00 pm. All are welcome. In honor of Darlene and her love of bright colors, the family requests that you wear bright colors to celebrate Darlene.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made either to the Newtown Congregational Church or to the ASPCA.