Joan Benkard Jackson was born on September 15th, 1933 in New York City. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Bartlett Benkard and was raised in New York City. She was a graduate of the Chapin School, Oldfields School, and Adelphi University. She is the mother of five children: and leaves behind six grandchildren. She was a devoted military wife to her husband, Peter A. Jackson, for 11 years.

While living in Hawaii, the Jackson family learned that Peter was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He soon passed away and Joan was left to raise five children independently. She moved back to New York where she acted as a homemaker and mother, teaching and taking care of her children. Her proudest accomplishment is producing 5 happy and successful children that she was able to teach and support.

Joan continued to serve as a teacher, as she enjoyed helping people at the Hebrew Home where she lived.

Joan loved family and loved traditions. She loved the holidays and would begin planning them months ahead of time. Every holiday involved a carefully constructed menu of time-honored family favorites, there was little deviation from the traditional menu, yet every year it was more special than the last. Joan also had a passion for history and genealogy and did much of her research prior to the availability of the internet.

In lieu of flowers, you can make a donation to the HOPE Program here: www.hhardonation.org 1. In the drop down menu, select "Other". 2. In the comments put "HOPE PROGRAM in memory of Joan Jackson". 3. On the bottom, select the box "In Memory of".