Doris S. Jackson, of Kennebunk, and previously Basking Ridge and Union, New Jersey, passed on Feb. 14, 2022, at age 94. At her side was her son Bruce R. Jackson of Kennebunkport and his partner Jeannine McCoy, her wonderful caregivers at Huntington Common and Northern Lights Hospice, and loving contact with friends and family.
Born Doris Gloria Schuster on Jan. 21, 1928, to parents William C. Schuster and Florence Schuster (nee Bachman), Doris was raised in Union, New Jersey, and graduated from Roselle Park High School in 1945. She enrolled at McAllister Institute of Mortuary Science in New York City in 1947 where she was one of only three women in an 80-person class. She graduated at the top of her class in 1948 and joined the firm of Haeberle and Barth in Irvington, New Jersey. It was there that she met the love of her life, Ralph H. Jackson. They were married in 1949 and their son Bruce Ralph Jackson was born in 1951. In 1964, Doris put her medical knowledge to work as a medical records transcriber at Union Memorial Hospital. By the 1970s, Doris moved into financial services with the investment firm of Economic Benefits where she worked in support of client accounts until 1989.
When Ralph passed away in 1983, Doris participated in a bereavement group and eventually became a bereavement counselor. Never at rest, she eventually became a volunteer with the VNA in Somerset County, serving lunch to senior citizens and where she was serenaded on her 85th birthday. For many years, Doris was also a key member of the volunteer VNA Rummage fundraiser, service she continued until she relocated to Kennebunk in 2018, taking up residence at an independent living cottage at Huntington Common.
In addition to volunteering, her other passions included travel, watercolor painting and fitness and health. Two of her recent proud moments were being honored by her Basking Ridge YMCA on the occasion of her 90th birthday and exhibiting a watercolor painting during an exhibition in 2020 at the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk. Her vitality and independence were inspirational to all who knew her.
Along with son Bruce, Doris leaves her dear grandchildren Corey Jackson and his wife Allyssa Smith Jackson of Warwick, Rhode Island, and Whitney Jackson of Pomona, California, and their mother Valerie P. Jackson of Kennebunkport. She was predeceased by sister Edith S. Connolly and brother William C. Schuster.
Arrangements are being handled by Bibber Memorial Chapel, Kennebunk. A Celebration of Life will be held in New Jersey in the spring. Memorial donations to commemorate Doris’s life may be made to Brick Store Museum, 117 Main St., Kennebunk, ME 04043 (www.brickstoremuseum.org).
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