Gail Elizabeth Jackson, whose personal mantra was “Live, love, laugh,” lost her battle with lung cancer at the Leonard Florence Center in Chelsea on Jan. 1, 2015. She was 76.
Gail was born in Malden on August 13, 1938, the oldest child of Councilman Herbert L. Jackson and Doris Pope Jackson. She spent many summers in Oak Bluffs.
As a young woman, Gail worked at Shearer Cottage, the historic family-owned inn. Gail Jackson attended Malden Public Schools. She was very active at Malden High School, where she belonged to several clubs, performed in school plays and served as vice president of her sophomore class and president of her junior class. She graduated from Lasell College in Newton in 1958 with an associate’s degree in retailing. Gail was known at Lasell College for her wit, kindness, and extraordinary voice.
After graduation, Gail worked briefly in retail, followed by several years with Pan American Airlines, which allowed her to travel extensively. She then achieved her long-held ambition to become a jazz singer, and performed under the stage name of Gail Loring in nightclubs in Boston, on Martha’s Vineyard, in New York City, and in Los Angeles.
Later in her musical career, Gail was an entertainer on Princess Cruise Lines, cruising and singing throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. After retiring from performing, Gail Jackson returned to Malden, the place of her birth.
She is survived by her sister Lee Jackson Van Allen, her brother Herbert L. Jackson Jr., and several nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and -nephews. Services will be held at Weir-MacCuish Golden Rule Funeral Home, 144 Salem Street in Malden, with visitation on Wednesday, Jan. 7, from 4 pm to 8 pm and a funeral on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 12 pm. According to Gail Jackson’s wishes, she donated her brain to the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center for Parkinson’s Disease. She was cremated at Woodlawn Crematory in Everett. Her ashes will be scattered on Martha’s Vineyard.
