Born: July 27, 1941 URS: June 6, 2023

Joseph Jackson Obituary

Joseph Peter Jackson, born July 27, 1941, in Hamilton, Montana, left this earth on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in Charlottesville, Va. The middle son of the Reverend Elizabeth and the Rev. Charles Jackson, Joe; and his brothers, Charles and Philip; and elder sister, Joan grew up in Assembly of God parishes throughout Montana and North Dakota. Joe was an accomplished violinist and singer, and was concertmaster at Williston High School where he also won the North Dakota State wrestling championship in his junior and senior years.

An undergraduate at the University of Missouri, Joe subsequently earned his PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. For his doctoral dissertation, Joe traveled to Vietnam during the war where he focused on the effect of conflict in children, after which he taught at SUNY Buffalo in the pivotal late 60’s.

Joe had a deep and rich spiritual life which led him to the Lama Foundation near Taos, New Mexico, an ecumenical community, in the mid 1970’s. While committed to meditation, he was equally committed to carpentry and repair of all kinds.

Joe’s devotion to greater consciousness, physical labor and the natural world sustained him throughout his life, providing a balm to his spirit. His true home was always Montana; in 1979, he returned to the Flathead to begin his clinical practice and start a family with his former wife and lifelong friend Nura Yingling. He moved to Batesville to join a Sufi Community in 1987, and established a private practice in Charlottesville. In 2004 he married his great love Katie.

Joe served hundreds of patients in his practice, taught mindfulness in the community, and was focus coach to the UVA football team in the early 2000’s.

Joe was a teacher. His Parkinson’s diagnosis provided him new opportunities, from Virginia to Montana, to demonstrate acceptance and grace, and share the value of adaptation to loss and change. Disability never diminished his force of character or impact on those around him. He considered his disease a great teacher.

Joe created a harmonious blended family. He is survived by his loving wife, Katie Jackson; his children, Emily Levis and Peter Jackson; his stepchildren, Justin and Aaron Meredith; his brother, Philip Jackson; his three, granddaughters, Isabelle, Ava, and Fiona; his step-grandson, William Meredith; and a multitude of nieces, nephews and friends whom he loved dearly.

The family plans a Celebration of Life at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in Joe’s memory to the Hospice of the Piedmont in Charlottesville, Va., www.hopva.org; or The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Published by Daily Progress on Jun. 11, 2023.