Thomas J. Jackson Jr. ’55

Tom died Jan. 17, 2020, 17 days after admission to a hospital for pancreatic cancer. Tom and Janet, his wife of 60 years, had lived in Pittsburgh all their lives and for 50 years in the same house in the Ben Avon neighborhood.

Before Princeton, Tom graduated from West View School in Pittsburgh. At Princeton he joined Dial Lodge, majored in history, and roomed senior year with Jack Drosdick, David Taylor, and Howard Lonsdale. After Princeton he served two years on a destroyer in the Navy and graduated from Pittsburgh Law School.

He met Janet at age 5 and “after a 25-year hiatus, we got married.” His several civic leadership roles included heading the board of the local hospital system and presidency of the Allegheny Preservation Society, which manages restoration of the Calvary United Methodist Church and its famous Tiffany windows. He was also a church organist for 17 years and a choir member.

Tom and Janet loved to ski, heading for Vail nearly every year. They also traveled to Africa, Hawaii, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Nearly every summer was spent at their place in Ocean City, N.J., Janet’s childhood vacation home.

Tom is survived by Janet and their three children, Thomas Jackson III, Julie J. Kolenda, and Jody Coffey.