James N. "Jim" Jackson

James (Jim) Norman Jackson, 83, of Galesburg, Illinois, died on January 24, 2022, at OSF St. Mary Medical Center in Galesburg. Jim was born July 10, 1938, in Goderich, Ontario, Canada, the son of Dr. Norman and Annabelle (McArthur) Jackson, both of whom preceded him in death. He married Teresa (Terry) Haptonstahl in Chicago on December 9, 1961. Jim and Terry recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a family party. As well as his wife Terry, Jim is survived by his sister, Martha (John) Archbold of Goderich, Ontario, one daughter, Jenny (Lance) White, and two sons, Tom (Deb) Jackson and Steve (Tracy) Jackson, and seven grandchildren, Jackson and Shelby White, Zachary and Alex Jackson, Kizumi and James S. Jackson and Nathan Stinson. He is also survived by a number of nieces and nephews in Canada and the United States. After graduating from Goderich District Collegiate Institute, Jim moved to Chicago where he studied Industrial Psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). Following college, Jim progressed through a series of increasingly more responsible assignments in human resources development and management at such organizations as Ford Motor Credit Company, General Motors Institute and the New York Stock Exchange. When the family settled in Galesburg to be close to Terry’s parents, Jim began a second career in mortgage lending and insurance at such institutions as United Federal Bank, First of America Bank and Miller, Dredge Mortgage Services and Insurance. For many years, he was also a part-time adjunct instructor at Carl Sandburg College in business, marketing, human resources and labor management. Jim’s lifelong passion for music and especially for playing trumpet began with lessons when he was growing up in Goderich. Soon he was playing Sundays with the Salvation Army Band, occasional concerts with the Goderich Laketown Band, and weekends with Paul Cross’s Dance Band. When he went to Chicago to attend college, he played with concert bands at Vandercook College of Music and his alma mater IIT, where he met his future wife, Terry, a secretary at the school. He also played occasional gigs around the city with jazz and dance bands, including his favorite, Andy Pappas and the Greek Lads. When the family landed in Galesburg, opportunities to play nights and weekends in various bands expanded greatly, beginning with summer bands in neighboring towns of Monmouth and Knoxville. Soon he was playing occasional gigs in jazz and dance bands in the area – the Starlighters Dance Band, the Rootabaga Jammers, Jim’s own Jazz Swingtet, and he frequently sat in with other bands around town. Beginning in 1985, the Knox-Sandburg Community Concert Band (which Jim and Terry co-founded) brought together students from Knox College, Carl Sandburg College and talented musicians from the area. Jim was a regular in pit bands for many musical productions in and around Galesburg, and he enjoyed playing a borrowed euphonium for Tuba Christmas every year that it was held in Galesburg. He also sat in with the Grayslake Central High School jazz and concerts bands on special occasions. Jim’s interests in both history and music led him to join two Civil War Reenactment bands, the 1st Brigade Band of Watertown, WI, and later the 33rd Volunteer Regiment Band of Central Illinois. Both of these bands toured the Midwest and the 33rd Volunteer Regiment Band was invited to play for the second inauguration of President George W. Bush. One of Jim’s greatest thrills as a musician was being invited to play 3rd trumpet for a one night performance of the visiting Glenn Miller Orchestra at Galesburg’s Orpheum Theater. Jim was long and meaningfully active in the Galesburg community, as President of the Frank H. Tucker Memorial Music Scholarship Fund, Co-Founder and President of Christmas in Action - Galesburg, President of the Noon Rotary Club of Galesburg, President of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony Society Board of Directors, Program Chair of the Orpheum Theater Management Board, Treasurer of the National Stearman Fly-In and Co-Chair of the Lender-Realtor Committee on Area Problems in Housing. Jim also served as a member of the Area-Wide Task Force on Affordable Housing, and the Board of Directors of the Peoria Chapter 80 Institute for Financial Education. Memorials may be made in support of the musical organization(s) of one’s choice, any band, choral group, orchestra or other. The family will hold a Celebration of Life at a later date. Arrangements have been entrusted to Watson Thomas Funeral Home and Crematory, Galesburg.