GARY JACKSON

MUSCATINE, Iowa – Gary Ronald Jackson, 89, passed away on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at the Solon Nursing Care Center.

A private graveside service will be held on Monday, December 15, 2025, at Memorial Park Cemetery. A memorial service will follow at a later date. The Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.wittichfuneralhome.com.

Gary was born on August 31, 1936, in Muscatine, Iowa, the youngest of six children of Fred and Thora (née McOlgan) Jackson. The Jackson home was lively, warm, and full of character. His mother, a remarkable cook, whose Depression-era recipes were local legend, worked at a nearby hospital—so skilled that doctors brought their entire families in on holidays just to eat her meals. Gary often said this set his culinary expectations for life, and may have paved the way for his marriage to Frances, as he believed she was the only person who could match his mother’s cooking.

Even as a child, Gary displayed the curiosity and mischief that would follow him throughout his life. He once brought home a baby crocodile he bought from the dimestore—tiny but feisty—yet he swore it would fall fast asleep if you could just rub its belly.

Gary also developed a deep love of jazz early on, inspired by his older brother Kendall “Red” Jackson, who played trumpet in a local jazz group. After late-night gigs, Red would come home, wake young Gary, and softly play his muted trumpet for him. Those private concerts ignited a lifelong passion. Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Woody Herman and the Thundering Herd, and countless others would become the soundtrack that carried him through the many chapters of his life.

Gary served in the United States Army from 1958 to 1960. After basic training, he was deployed to Bremerhaven, Germany, where he served in the Postal Regiment Detachment. It was there that he bonded with his sergeant over their shared love of jazz, and where—later in life—he could confirm to his children that yes, Elvis Presley really did receive that much mail.

After his military service, Gary worked for Boeing in Seattle and later for the United States Army Corps of Engineers in the Pacific Northwest, St. Louis, and throughout Arkansas, helping to plan and oversee the construction of hydroelectric dams. When computers began emerging in government work, Gary made the daunting shift from engineering to programming at a time when most people had barely heard of computers. He earned certifications on early IBM machines and Rayovac systems, sticking with it through many steep learning curves until it finally “clicked,” as he put it.

What followed was a career he loved—full of problem-solving, innovation, and constant learning. After returning to the Midwest to be closer to family, Gary joined the Rock Island Arsenal as a civilian computer programmer. There, working primarily on IBM 3301 mainframes, he wrote some of the defense industry’s earliest computer programs. Several of his programs were even published, something he remained deeply proud of.

It was at the Arsenal that Gary met the love of his life, Frances Miller. He often said she was not only the best-looking and most talented data processor at the Arsenal, but also the most classy person he had ever known. They married in 1971 and shared 37 years of partnership, laughter, devotion, and occasional chaos as they raised four children—and an ever-changing collection of dogs, cats, goats, chickens, a pony, and eventually even a pot-bellied pig named Miss Piggy.

Family life with Gary was warm, sometimes loud, often funny, and always full of tradition. Christmas and Thanksgiving were especially meaningful. His homemade egg noodles were legendary—anticipated each year with as much enthusiasm as any present or stocking stuffer. Many evenings in the Jackson home were spent watching P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster reruns on PBS and later on DVD, a shared love passed from Gary to Frances and eventually to Grant and Elizabeth.

When Frances passed away in 2008, Gary remained strong and stayed in the home they had built together, surrounded by the memories and reminders of a joyful life shared. Though he could be reserved—a true Anglophile with a fondness for the “stiff upper lip” mentality—Gary expressed love in quiet, unmistakable ways. Ending a phone call with the gentle phrase, “I do think about you,” became something of a family signature, one likely to carry forward for generations.

Above all else, Gary cherished time with family. Whether fishing, watching the Boston Celtics or Iowa Hawkeyes, or discussing politics, history, or music, he believed everything was best enjoyed in the company of family and friends. He took his family to Disney World at least ten times, often staying from open to close; the Star Tours ride was a particular favorite. He also loved seeing live jazz concerts, especially with Frances by his side—some of their happiest outings were spent listening together as the music enveloped them, brass and rhythm shaking the room. In later years, he enjoyed trips to Riverside with friends, walking Discovery Park, and—much to everyone’s amusement—becoming a Los Angeles Dodgers fan.

Gary is survived by his children, Grant (Rosie Math) Jackson and Susan “Elizabeth” Jackson; his stepson, Andy Seynaeve (Janet); and his grandchildren, Avram, Theo, Ava, A.J., Emily, and Joshua.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Frances; his stepson, Randy Seynaeve (Sherri); and his siblings, Murray Jackson, NaDean Suttles, Maxine Duffe, Jean Reifert, and Kendall Jackson.

Gary’s family takes comfort in knowing that he and Frances are reunited once again—together, side by side, front row to the Thundering Herd.