Dorris Jean Jackson

Dorris Jackson Obituary Dorris Jean Jackson had an irrepressible spirit, a huge heart, and a whole lot of self-confidence. She was an amazing mother and friend; a wife of 51 years, an active community member, and an avid bridge player. Dorris Jean Jackson passed away peacefully and surrounded by loved ones, at her home in Shaker Heights, Ohio, on Wednesday, December 14, 2022. She was 90 years old. She lived a full and impactful life of faith, family, service to her community, and as much fun as she could pack in. While we mourn her passing, we find comfort in our many beautiful memories of her, and in the way that she touched so many lives. Dorris Jean Jackson (née Spencer) was born in Memphis, Tennessee on July 14, 1932, to Gertrude (née Thomas) and Theodore Spencer. She was raised in Memphis by her paternal grandparents, Susie Bell (née Sylvers) and Preston Solomon Spencer, and her aunt Freddie Mae Mitchell (née Spencer) for most of her childhood. During the summer months, she lived with her mother and stepfather, James V. Bell, in Cleveland, Ohio. Dorris attended Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, where she excelled as a student, sang in the choir, and was on the majorette squad. She attended college at Wilberforce University where she earned a B.A. in Accounting and was initiated into the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She fell in love with and married Rayford L. Jackson on August 11, 1956. Their family began with the birth of Leslie, eleven months later. Dorris and Rayford had six children together, though their fifth child, Stanley Vincent, died in infancy. They built a home on Becket Road in the newly integrating Ludlow community of Shaker Heights Ohio. They raised their family in this idyllic neighborhood of loving and involved parents and lots and lots of kids. Dorris was one of the many beloved mothers of this beautiful village. Dorris had a long and distinguished career as an accountant. Her first job was as an Account Representative at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (1954-1957). After taking a pause to have her first two children, Leslie, and Lorie, she took the position of Assistant Comptroller for the Rutman Wine Company (1958-1960). After another career hiatus for the births of Lynette, Jeffrey, and Stanley, she became an accountant for Cleveland Job Corps (1967-1969). Following the birth of her last child Lydia, Dorris served as the Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer at Madison and Madison, International, Inc., a black-owned architectural, engineering, and planning firm (1972-1999). Dorris was very active in the Cleveland community through her sorority, her church, board memberships, and charitable work. As an AKA in Cleveland’s Alpha Omega Chapter, she served as both president and chairperson of the non-profit Ivy Plaza Management Corporation, and as chairperson of the Leadership AKAdemy for college-bound Black youths. Dorris served on the Board of Trustees of the Eliza Bryant Village Nursing Home for the Black Aged for 20 years. She was a devoted parishioner of St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church for more than 50 years, singing in the choir and teaching Sunday School. Dorris was a passionate bridge player and belonged to the same bridge club, the Gyps, for over 50 years. She became a grandmother on December 10, 1982. Dorris loved spending time with her grandchildren and would hold one-on-one sessions with each of them, instilling values and teaching her cardinal rule, “You must love yourself.” She was known for what her children and grandchildren call her Dorris-isms – unique expressions that she would use, like “I’ll be John Browned,” and a favorite, “I may not always be right, but I am never wrong.” She modeled the importance of being one’s authentic self, of speaking up and out, and knowing that one is worthy. After her Alzheimer’s diagnosis some fifteen years ago, and the inevitable shrinking of her social community and profile, she remained at the center of her family, a dignified matriarch. And even as the disease progressed, her personality, her style, and her sassy and irrepressible disposition, always shone through. We were blessed by the loving and impeccable care that she received by her granddaughter, Carmen Thomas, and caregiver/companion, Sandra Foxx. She will be sorely missed, and gratefully remembered by her four daughters, Leslie J., Lorie D., Lynette A., and Lydia M. Jackson; her four grandchildren, Dana Turmel (Pierre), Carmen, Patrick, and Matthew Thomas (Tina); her great-grandchildren, Joslyn and Vivian Anglin, and Madison and Maddox Thomas, and a host of other family and friends. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Rayford L. Jackson, and her dear sons, Jeffrey W., and Stanley V. Jackson. https://www.livecask.com/efboyd To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dorris Jean Jackson, please visit our floral store. Read More

Dorris Jean Jackson

July 14, 1932 - December 14, 2022