Robert Henry Jackson of Edgartown died peacefully on October 18, 2014, at Hill House in Bath, Maine, surrounded by his family, after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia. He was 88.
He was born on November 11, 1926, in Melrose to Robert Edward Jackson and Elizabeth McCaffrey Jackson of Wakefield, and raised in Wellesley. He was married to Hope Clark of Lexington from 1950 until her death in 1998. In 2001 he married Annchen Gager, of Wellesley, who died in 2008.
He attended Wellesley High School, College of the Holy Cross, and Williams College. He received a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and served as Lt. Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He was an artist who worked in marketing and graphic design in Boston. He was active in land conservation projects on Martha’s Vineyard, and in the preservation of the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides” and the establishment of the Constitution Museum in Charlestown.
He is survived by daughters Tory Jackson of Bath, Maine, Betsy Fear and her husband, Michael Fear of Woolwich, Maine, and son Philip Jackson and his wife, Victoria of Salem; grandchildren Charlie and Sam Fear, and Henry, Clark, Caroline and Julia Jackson; stepdaughters Cindy DeLotto and Annchen Brown.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts to Vineyard Open Land Foundation (VOLF) PO Box 4608, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568, or the charity of one’s choice, will be appreciated.
A memorial gathering in Bath was held on November 29 at the Maine Maritime Museum; another gathering will be in Edgartown, at a later date.
To share your thoughts and condolences with the family, please visit desmondfuneralhomes.com.