Obituary of Richard Jackson

Richard Jackson, 83, of Bemus Point, NY and Fort Myers Beach, Florida died peacefully Friday, January 6, 2017 in Florida. Dick was born in Wellsville, NY in 1933, a son of the late Paul and Leona Jackson. He graduated from Alfred College and served in the US Army, working on atomic missile sites. He began his career by establishing his own construction firm in Zephyrhills, Florida. Later, he and his family returned to New York where he joined Barnes Construction Corporation in Falconer, NY in 1964 as a commercial, industrial and institutional construction estimator. Within a few years, he became a stockholder and Vice-President until his retirement in 1998. He also played an active role as a real estate developer, stockholder, and officer in BJB Corp. of WNY. Dick will be remembered for working hard so he could play harder. He especially enjoyed boating, golfing, mowing his lawn to perfection and beating whomever he could in a game of cribbage. He was also active in his community and well known for building or fixing anything - and then making sure whoever owned it, knew how to maintain it. Periodically, he would check-in just to make sure. He is survived by his daughters, Kathleen (Dan Dietel) Jackson of Eugene, Oregon, Karen (Tim) Goodell of New York, New York, and Kimberly (Dan) Dumett of Marietta, Georgia; his brother, William Jackson of Palm Harbor, Florida; and his eight grandchildren - as well as his constant companion Jazzy, his dog. Dick's wife and best friend Verna, whom he cared for so tenderly throughout her challenge with ovarian cancer, preceded him in death. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 8th at 10 AM at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Bemus Point, NY. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in his honor to either Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 41 Main Street, Bemus Point, NY 14712; or Hope Hospice House, 9470 Health Park Circle, Fort Myers, Fl, 33908.