Obituary of William Burd Jackson, 91
William Burd Jackson.
Family plans for two celebrations of life within the coming year
– William Burd Jackson, AKA Bill, was born in Chicago, IL on July 10, 1933, to Elizabeth Burd Jackson and John M. Jackson. He passed away on Nov. 4, 2024, at Ingleside Hospice in Atascadero, where he received excellent care in his final days.
He is survived by his two daughters Patricia (Trish) Jackson and Lisa J. Kipp and their respective spouses, Will J. Millard and Jeffery C. Kipp. In addition, he was proud grandfather to Casey E. Kipp and Taylor Jackson Kipp and delighted that both of them recently married two smart and savvy women, Grace Shea and Mariah Munoz.
Bill was surrounded by such women for most of his life with five sisters including the late Francis Matthews of Georgia, Lynette Colmey of Illinois, Margaret Haan of Georgia, Martha Fisher of Michigan, and Barbara Jackson of Vancouver, Canada. He also had a younger brother, Robert Jackson, who died in 1971. In addition, he had seven nieces, two nephews, and a passel of great nieces and nephews-though once again, mostly grand nieces!
After attending most of his schooling years in the Chicago area including the University of Chicago Lab School, Bill and his family moved to San Mateo, CA for a year while Bill was in high school. Though his family moved back to Chicago at the year’s end, Bill stayed in California to finish San Mateo High School and then enrolled in and graduated from Stanford University in 1956 with a degree in psychology. Another person who graduated from both San Mateo High School and Stanford along with him was his lifelong friend, Thyra Tegnor.
At Stanford, he also met Noelle Schmutz, whom he married in 1957 in South Pasadena, CA. After a brief stint in the U.S. Army in both Maryland and Wisconsin, Bill and Noelle moved to Southern California where they both lived for most of their adult lives. Though divorcing in 1974, Bill remained ever-grateful that Noelle was the mother of his daughters.
After his military service, Bill began working in banking assisting with the launch of MasterCard. In his 40s, Bill attended the Don Steele School of Radio and Television which led to a varied career in broadcasting and acting from doing local theater to owning the traffic and parking local cable radio station at Los Angeles Airport. His television highlights included roles in Seinfeld, Cheers, and Dallas among others. In addition, he volunteered for weekly reading of textbooks for over 25 years through Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic of Los Angeles
In addition, while back in school, he met Hamilton Williams, who was his voice coach as well as his life partner for over 30 years in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.
While Southern California was Bill’s home for most of his life, a place that was part of him for his entire life was Lakeside, MI along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. In 1924, Bill’s grandfather bought property and built a lasting family home. Bill loved being part of many wonderful Lakeside memories of the entire Jackson family, especially early-morning swims and late-night Scrabble games. He may have been there every year of his life culminating with a wonderful 90th birthday celebration in 2023. Many if not all of his ashes will be spread there along with those of his parents and older sister.
In 2017, at the encouragement of family and friends, Bill moved to Paso Robles, CA where he met a whole new community of friends, though Bill never really met a stranger! He was pleased to spend the final years of his life in this beautiful part of California among friends and visiting family members, and all of Bill’s tribe is grateful that he died in peace and with care after a wonderful, fun, and valued life.
The family plans for two celebrations of life within the coming year, one in Paso Robles, and a second in Lakeside, MI. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be made in Bill’s memory to a favorite charity.
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