Remembering a true public servant

BY BRUCE BRANUM

The Greenville Standard

 

Father, husband, chaplain, pastor, and sheriff’s deputy, Eric Spencer Jackson was known as true public servant.

Words that were used to describe Jackson from those who knew him were jovial, good hearted, kind, always smiling, a man of God and a great friend, among others.

Jackson was born in Mobile in 1970 and passed away at his home in Fort Deposit on Saturday, July 25 at age 50 from an apparent heart attack.

He began his career in law enforcement in 1992 with the Mobile Police Department (MPD).

In 1993, he graduated from the Mobile Police Academy and worked as an officer with the MPD until 1996. From 1996-2013, he worked with a private security firm.

From 2013, he worked with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Deposit Police Department, Georgiana Police Department, and was currently employed with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office as deputy at the time of his passing.

Jackson leaves behind his wife, Vickie, and their two children, Rachel (daughter) and Spencer (son).

His commitment to family, God, friends and the people he served was unwavering. Besides being a law enforcement officer, Jackson was the Chaplain for SouthernCare Hospice, and also Pastor of Lifeline Church.

Joann Mathews, who worked with Jackson at Southern Care Hospice, said of him, “SouthernCare family lost this special person. Eric Jackson was a Godly man who loved his family and friends like no other person I know.

“He kept us all together as a family and we had someone that we could talk to and he would always tell me ‘I’ll be praying for you’. He was a jokester and kept us in stitches. He will be missed by everyone who knew him.”

“I am still in shock. I’m just keep looking for him to call and say ‘Hey boss, no worries, I’m ok.”

Butler County Sheriff Danny Bond said of Jackson, “Eric was a good deputy, a good man, he loved the Lord, and you could tell that by dealing with him and the lives he touched.

“He always had a smile on his face. He would come in and say ‘Keep doing what you’re doing, we got your back. You couldn’t ask anyone for a better friend or employee.”