Eugene Floyd Jackson and Opal Jean Bowling
Husband Eugene Floyd Jackson
Born: 5 Oct 1920 - Terre Haute, Vigo County, IN Baptized: Died: 8 Oct 2004 - Danville, Hendricks County, IN Buried: - Brownsburg Cemetery, Brownsburg, Hendricks County, IN FamilySearch ID: L2MX-86W Find A Grave ID: 169742528
Father: Harold Paul (Harry) Jackson {FSID: L2MX-8LF, FGID: 24106806} Mother: Olus Cynthia McDaniels {FSID: L2MJ-1TK, FGID: 24106728}
Marriage: 18 Apr 1942 - Boone County, IN
Wife Opal Jean Bowling
Born: 16 Dec 1921 - Clay County, KY Baptized: Died: 24 Jun 2003 - Center Township, Hendricks County, IN Buried: 26 Jun 2003 - Brownsburg Cemetery, Brownsburg, Hendricks County, IN FamilySearch ID: L2MJ-1GN Find A Grave ID: 169742535
Children
1 M Bill Jackson
Born: Baptized: Died: Buried:
2 F ? Jackson
Born: Baptized: Died: Buried:
3 F ? Jackson
Born: Baptized: Died: Buried:
General Notes: Husband - Eugene Floyd Jackson
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=169742528
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/169742528/eugene-floyd-jackson
BIRTH 5 Oct 1920
DEATH 8 Oct 2004 (aged 84)
BURIAL
Brownsburg Cemetery
Brownsburg, Hendricks County, Indiana, USA
MEMORIAL ID 169742528
Family links:
Parents:
Harold Paul Jackson (1899 - 1990)
Olus McDaniels Jackson (1900 - 1958)
Siblings:
Eugene F. Jackson (1920 - 2004)
Lillian Hudson (1922 - 2008)*
Mary Hanes (1923 - 2014)*
*Calculated relationship
Created by: R & S Fine
Record added: Sep 11, 2016
Find A Grave Memorial# 169742528
memorial page for Eugene Floyd Jackson (5 Oct 1920–8 Oct 2004), Find A Grave Memorial no. 169742528, citing Brownsburg Cemetery, Brownsburg, Hendricks County, Indiana, USA ; Maintained by R & S Fine (contributor 46620684) .
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L2MX-86W/eugene-floyd-jackson-1920-2004
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L2MX-86W
"My Dad - Eugene Floyd Jackson:
Dad never finished high school, dropping-out after his sophomore year. Dad told a story about a teacher who he didn’t like and who insisted he wear a tie to school. Dad said he refused and stopped going to school as a result. Despite never completing high school, he was intelligent and proved as much by learning and using a variety of technical skills he needed both on the job, at home, and for his hobbies. He was mechanically gifted and could fix almost any machine that broke at work, in the garage, or the house.
Dad’s early adulthood included the common hardships brought to his generation by the Great Depression. Because there were no jobs in Terre Haute (where he grew up), he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and served in this New Deal-sponsored, paramilitary organization at Camp Panaca in Nevada. This exposure to military training would later serve him well.
In 1941 Dad met Opal Bowling, the woman he would marry on April 18, 1942 and become his life-long partner.
Dad was a veteran of WW II serving in the Army from September 2, 1942 until January 8, 1946, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. While in the Army, he served in Europe as a truck mechanic and driver.
After the war, Dad started working for Union Carbide Corporation’s Linde Air division in Speedway, Indiana, retiring in 1982. He spent a good portion of his early career as a welder and was expert using acetylene, arc and heli-arc welders on a variety of metal surfaces. Later he learned to run a mass spectrometer to check large-scale vacuum containers for leaks. Finally, he used his mechanical talents as a machine tool set-up man and could be counted-on to have the machines he was responsible for, in his terms, “runnin’ like a pickle seeder”.
Dad and Mom raised their family in Brownsburg, Indiana. As quick as financially possible, Dad purchased a small frame home outside of Brownsburg on what later became county road 900 East. Dad spent a lot of time improving his modest home to better accommodate our growing family. Family members and friends were often recruited to contribute their expertise on these DIY home improvements.
For several years Dad and I belonged to a model airplane club called “The Propbusters”. In it, we built and flew gas-powered model airplanes, the kind with wires that just went round and round in circles. It took a long time to build the planes from balsa wood kits, paint them up and attach their engines. We pretty quickly learned it only took a few seconds to fly one into the ground and turn it into splinters!
Around 1960, Dad decided to use the vacant part of their house lot to have a new home built. Because it was so close, Dad spent all his nights and weekends during the time the house was being built supervising its construction. More than once, Dad made the crew undo a major piece of work until it met his personal specification. After the house was built, the contractor lamented he didn’t make any money because Dad made him redo so many things. Dad rented the original house and we moved next door into our new home.
Dad and Mom always had a big vegetable garden. We planted sweet corn, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, beets, zucchini, bell peppers, and potatoes. Gardening took a lot of effort and the children were expected to participate. We hoed weeds, picked and broke beans, shucked corn, and used an old push-pull spray duster to treat the plants to keep the tomato worms and other bugs at bay. The bounty from the garden filled our summer table and the excess was canned or frozen for later use. I can still see in my mind’s eye the rows of canned beans and beets waiting for a winter dinner.
Dad used his free time in a variety of ways. One of his favorite pastimes was playing cards. He and Mom often played Canasta and later they learned to play Euchre. Card playing was always taken seriously, winning was important, loosing wasn’t fun. Very often they went to Euchre tournaments sponsored by Dad’s company and, as often as not, came home with a prize.
Dad got his auto mechanic fix helping pit crew for my Uncle Gene Dulin’s midget racer. We often went to Crawfordsville (where my aunt Myrt and Uncle Gene lived) on weekends to prep the race car and then travel around the state to race tracks and watch the pink number 4 midget racer run. Uncle Gene’s racer was very competitive and his car often won the races.
One of the few things that Dad was really passionate about was fishing. As a youngster he helped his uncle who was a professional fisherman on the Wabash River near Terre Haute. Very often he and I participated and won prizes in the “fishing derbies” sponsored by his employer. Dad had a flat-bottom johnboat that we’d load on top the Chevy and a used Johnson motor he had coaxed the life back into. He and I spent many happy nights floating in it on a reservoir or gravel pit, watching our bobbers, and hoping for a nibble.
Later in his life, he finagled his way into being invited to go fishing in Canada at the private fishing lodge of the local entrepreneur, Al Galyan. To go, Dad agreed to help around Mr. Galyan’s lodge in exchange for a few days fishing. During the mid-1960’s Dad made this trip several times and always came back with great fish stories. Years later, Dad and I (and others) took own fishing trips to the same lake in Canada, staying in another fee-based lodge. Dad acted as our guide on these trips and we always caught fish.
Dad was always fascinated with electronic devices, especially radios. During the initial CB-radio craze in the 1960’s, he had CB’s in the car and in the kitchen. But, plain ol’ CB radios weren’t good enough for Dad. He secretly boosted their power above the legal limits and took every opportunity to talk with distant locations when the “skip” conditions were right.
Over the years, Dad’s radio habit matured into his becoming a full-fledged Ham radio operator. At its peak, Dad’s house looked like a space station it had so many antennas on its roof. Eventually, most of our neighbors became accustomed to Dad’s radio signal bleeding into their radio and TV reception. Dad made friends from all over the world because of his HAM radio.
For people who didn’t know my Dad, it would have been easy for them to think he might be mean. He was thick boned and muscular, had a gruff voice, and didn’t smile much. But in fact, he was a kind and giving person. For most of his life, he was not active in the church. A few years prior to his death a family friend and lay minister spent many evenings with him in Bible study. His efforts resulted in Dad’s decision to accept Christ as his savior and he was baptized into the Church at the North view Christian Church in Danville.
Here are a few values my Dad taught me:
• The value of a good education - He told me once you could make your living in one of two ways: With your back (as a factory laborer like him) or by getting an education and using your brain. He urged me to choose the second path and I went to college and graduated with two business degrees. Dad and Mom somehow paid for a good portion of my college and I and grateful for their support. Dad was very proud of my educational achievements.
• The value of hard work - Dad worked in a factory whose working conditions were not very pleasant - hot and humid in the summer, always dirty, and potentially dangerous. He went in every day and worked overtime hours when they were offered. When he came home we ate dinner and, very often, he fell asleep on the couch. He had other side ventures to earn extra money, but most of them were not very successful. He expected his children to be resourceful and to help pay their own way. My sisters and I always had summer jobs and we quickly learned the value of a dollar and the virtue of saving.
• Family values - We went to family reunions, holiday gatherings, and spent time visiting Dad and Mom’s parents, sisters and brothers. Lucky for us we had tons of cousins our age and spent pleasant time with them during our visits. When help was needed with a project or assistance with other needs was evident, Dad made time to help. Of course, there were times when we needed help and family members always were ready to lend a hand. My Uncle Gene referred to my Dad as, “his right hand man” and I’m sure Dad felt the same.
• Self Sufficiency - Dad grew-up during the Depression and knew poverty and want. He didn’t earn a lot of money at his job at the factory and we were certainly not rich. As a consequence, there wasn’t much money available for entertainment. This meant that if you wanted something extra, you needed to be able to pay for it yourself. Money for dates, better clothes, gas, food, and other entertainment came from our jobs. Having and keeping a job became very important.
• Friendship - Dad was an outgoing person and made a good number of friends. Friends added richness and depth to his life. They provided opportunity for new experiences and personal growth. Some of Dad’s friends lasted for most of his adult life and others were more transitory - all played their role in the fabric of his life.
My Dad’s been gone almost ten years and I still miss him. The lessons I learned from him and the experiences we had together will always be with me.
Written by Bill Jackson
Birth • 5 October 1920
Terre Haute, Vigo, Indiana, United States
Death • 8 October 2004
Danville, Hendricks, Indiana, United States
Age 84
Burial • •
Brownsburg Cemetery, Brownsburg, Hendricks, Indiana, United States"
General Notes: Wife - Opal Jean Bowling
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=169742528
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/169742535/opal-jackson
BIRTH 16 Dec 1921
DEATH 24 Jun 2003 (aged 81)
BURIAL
Brownsburg Cemetery
Brownsburg, Hendricks County, Indiana, USA
MEMORIAL ID 169742535
Created by: R & S Fine
Added: 10 Sep 2016
Find A Grave Memorial 169742535
memorial page for Opal Jackson (16 Dec 1921–24 Jun 2003), Find A Grave Memorial no. 169742535, citing Brownsburg Cemetery, Brownsburg, Hendricks County, Indiana, USA ; Maintained by R & S Fine (contributor 46620684) .
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L2MJ-1GN/opal-jean-bowling-1921-2003
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L2MJ-1GN
"Birth • 16 December 1921
Clay, Kentucky, United States
Death • 2 Sources
24 June 2003
Center Township, Hendricks, Indiana, United States
Age 81
Burial • 26 June 2003
Brownsburg, Lincoln Township, Hendricks, Indiana, United States"
Notes: Marriage
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=169742528
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/169742528/eugene-floyd-jackson
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/169742535/opal-jackson
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L2MX-86W/eugene-floyd-jackson-1920-2004
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L2MJ-1GN/opal-jean-bowling-1921-2003
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