OBIT – Rev. Billy Joe Jackson Sr.
MISSION – Reverend Billy Joe Jackson, Sr., born October 11, 1938, at Tenaha, Tex., passed away Feb. 11, 2016, at his home in Mission, Tex., after a short illness.
Parents are Joseph Jackson and Vivian Pickett of Gary, Tex., who preceded him in death.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Stephanie Mintora Hughes Jackson; three sons, Billy Joe (BJ) Jackson, Jr. and wife Mia, Alton Virgil Genous Jackson and wife Demetria, Brian Cort Jackson and wife Lauren. There are eight grandchildren: Alton Jr., William, Makenna, Anayah, Brooke, Cort, Brendon and Alexis.
Reverend Jackson’s surviving siblings are Marie Dade, Rosie Smith (Howard) and Linda Miller, all of Columbus, Ohio; Katherlene Piroutek and Dorothy Greer of Giddings, Tex.; Velma Arnold, Genous Jackson (Sandra), Billie Jean Webster (Charles) and Katie Marie Johnson (Ulysses, Jr.) of Longview, Tex.; and Mae Gladys Brooks (Jeffery) of Hallsville, Tex. He is also survived by his stepmother, Susie Lee Jackson of Carthage, Tex. and seven stepsisters and one stepbrother, plus a host of nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his sisters, Vera Jones, Syble Brown, Ella Jones, Choicy Goffney and Octavia Choyce, and a stepbrother.
Reverend Jackson graduated from Turner High School in Carthage, Tex. He attained his Bachelor’s Degree in history from Texas College and Master of Education degree from Prairie View A & M University at Prairie View, Tex. He taught school in Dime Box I.S.D., La Joya I.S.D., Mission C.I.S.D. and Sharyland I.S.D. Reverend Jackson was always very active in the church. As a young child, he played the piano and sang in the choir. When he moved to the Valley, he attended a local branch of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, was ordained a deacon and then a minister of the gospel. He pastored two churches: Lily of the Valley Baptist Church in Edinburg, Tex. and True Honor Missionary Baptist Church in Raymondville, Tex.
He was an active member of Abundant Grace Church and served as a prison minister at the Segovia Unit for over 20 years. He served as a mentor at a local halfway house serving teenage men who were in transition from juvenile detention back into the community.
He and his wife, Stephanie, founded Reach Our Children, They Have a Dream (ROC-THAD) which promoted awareness of both the African-American and the Hispanic communities, and provided tutoring and mentoring of life skills for at-risk children in the Rio Grande Valley, Metro Houston and Central and East Texas. He served as a little league baseball coach and basketball coach.
He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother, cousin, and teacher who loved fishing, spending quiet times with his wife, men’s ministry, spending time with his grandkids, and hanging with his three sons.
A memorial service was held on Feb. 20 at the McAllen Spanish Jordan Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Rev. Amancio Chapa officiated.
>Memorial contributions may be made to gofundme.com/blessthejacksons.