Lynne V. Jackson was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 11, 1936 to Joseph and Marian Vinczeller. A younger sister, Josette, was born a couple years later. Her mother Marian, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and her father, Joseph, an engineer who worked for Lincoln Electric, first lived in downtown Cleveland near Severance Hall, the home of the Cleveland Symphony. It was here that Lynne first developed her passion for music. As a young girl, the family moved to Stow, a Cleveland suburb, where Lynne completed high school. She was an accomplished pianist from a young age and also enjoyed singing in choirs.
Lynne graduated from Kent State University and then attended the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, Maryland. She was elected president of her 1960 class. On June 4th of that year she married the love of her life, Calvin Jackson, a Presbyterian minister serving at Faith Presbyterian Church in Baltimore. They were introduced on a blind date orchestrated by Cal's cousin, Peggy Jackson Ferguson. Following their wedding, Lynne continued at Hopkins, including working in the operating room during some of the first heart transplant operations, as well teaching nursing students. A year later, on June 18, Lynne and Cal welcomed their first child, Stephanie Lynne. In June of 1963, a son Patrick was born, followed in 1966 by a second son, Sean.
In January 1967, the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where Cal became the senior pastor at Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church. A devoted mother, Lynne nurtured the three children through school lessons, music and all their activities. She also had a great love of animals and cared for the family's German shepherds and Siamese cats. Through the nine years they lived in Cincinnati, Lynne had many wonderful friends. She played tennis and returned to the work force working at the University of Cincinnati, using her nursing training working at the poison control center.
In January of 1975, the family moved to Basking Ridge, New Jersey, where Cal assumed the pulpit at the venerable Presbyterian Church. In each church where Cal pastored, Lynne was active in the choir and volunteered in the community. After getting the family settled, Lynne worked as nurse in Morristown before joining Ciba-Geigy, a pharmaceutical firm where she worked on various breakthrough cardiovascular drug trials. She worked at Ciba for fourteen years before retiring in 1993.
Lynne and Cal retired to Baltimore in 1994, returning to the city where they first met. They enjoyed living near Johns Hopkins University, continuing their love of travel with trips to France, Spain, and Portugal. They had traveled previously to Africa to visit Patrick while he served in the Peace Corps in Senegal.
In 2005, Lynne and Cal moved to Delray Beach, Florida, where they took up residence in an assisted living community known as Abbey Delray South. There they made many wonderful friends and enjoyed being close to daughter Stephanie and her family in West Palm Beach.
Through the years, Lynne bravely faced some health challenges. In June 2013, she was diagnosed with the cancer that would take her life.
Lynne is survived by her husband of 54 years, Calvin Jackson, and her three children Stephanie (husband Enrique Artero), Patrick (wife Janet), and Sean (wife Laura). Lynne is also survived by six grandchildren: Gabriel and Emma Artero, Elyse Jackson, and Matthew, James, and Katherine Jackson.
We give thanks to God for the gift and blessing of her life.