Leon “Ray” Jackson, 89, of Enterprise, Kansas, passed away December 18, 2024. Born March 24, 1936, on the family farm east of Enterprise, where his grandfather Peter Jackson homesteaded in 1869 after emigrating from Sweden. Ray was the eighth of nine children of Peter Apollo and Alma Landrum Jackson.
Ray attended Stony Point and Pleasant Hill one-room schools and graduated in 1953 from Dickinson County Community High School, the youngest in his class. During his school years, he worked summers for Woody Sigg hauling wheat and plowing fields. After graduation, he worked at a Sinclair Service Station and later in the foundry at J.B. Ehrsam Manufacturing Company. In 1958, he completed training at Weaver Airline School in Kansas City, Missouri.
Ray entered the U.S. Army on October 2, 1958, completing basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and later serving in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and Verdun, France. As a chauffeur for the Headquarters Commandant, he drove over 40,000 miles and had the honor of transporting dignitaries including Major General George S. Patton III and other military leaders during memorial ceremonies at World War II cemeteries in Luxembourg, Belgium, and Holland. His service took him to historic sites such as the Compiègne Forest, where the World War I Armistice was signed.
After his discharge, Ray returned to Kansas and resumed work in the foundry. He met Phyllis Lee Besore, and they married on November 22, 1963—the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Together they raised three children: Peter, Derek, and Shannon. Ray worked for Ehrsam, Combustion Engineering, ABB, RHV and later Russell Stover Candies, finally retiring in 2012 following open-heart surgery.
Ray was a member of the First Baptist Church of Enterprise and was active in the Enterprise community, serving on the City Council, and supporting many activities in the community.
Ray is survived by his children and their families, including twelve grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. He is also survived by his in-laws: Twila Jackson, Pam Jackson, Wilbur (Arlene) Besore, Barbara Holloway, and Ed (Janell) Besore.
Ray was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, his brothers: Lester Charles, Myron Dale, Adrian Doyle, Allen Lloyd and Lowell Dean and his sisters: Nina Ruth King, Ava Lois Fiedler-Nowlan and Phyllis Jean Miller.
Ray was proud of his Swedish heritage and his Kansas roots. He was the last surviving member of his family and the last of the third generation from the Swedish settlement east of Enterprise. He will be remembered for his dedication to family, his service to his country, and his strong work ethic.
Ray’s Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, December 27 at the First Baptist Church of Enterprise at 10:30 am followed by graveside services and a lunch at the Phyllis Jackson Meeting Room in Enterprise. The family will receive friends from 5-7 pm on Friday, December 26 at the Martin-Becker-Carlson Funeral Home in Abilene.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Ray’s memory are requested to Enterprise First Baptist Church or the Community Foundation for Dickinson County (“Ray and Phyllis Jackson Memorial”). Memorials may be dropped off or mailed to the Martin-Becker-Carlson Funeral Home, 414 NW Third Street, Abilene, KS 67410.