- Date Of Birth: December 12, 1944
- Date Of Death: December 14, 2020
- State: Utah
Our beloved husband, father and grandfather William Lee Jackson died peacefully on December 14, 2020 at McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah surrounded by his wife and daughters.
He was born on December 12, 1944 in Cleburne, Texas to M. W. “Babe” & Shirley Mae Jackson. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Vicki Dee Furniss; his brothers, Milton (Rosa Linda) and Larry (Dee); and sisters, Carolyn (Milton) Hathcock and Debbie (Robert) Bell; two daughters, Rachel (Mat) Trotter and Rebekah (Randy) Haway; 8 grandchildren, Tyler (Emily) Trotter, Lydia (Jacob) Judd, Joseph, Jackson, Julia and Eliza Trotter; Victoria and Jace Haway and one great-granddaughter, Lova Judd. He was preceded in death by his father, mother, a sister Linda (Bobby) Muse, and baby brother Gary who died as an infant.
He loved his childhood and young adult years in Texas and a piece of his heart was always there. In his early years he moved to Lake Tahoe, Nevada to escape his life for a while, but that is where he found it. He met his eternal companion, Vicki Furniss, a few short months later.
They were married on September 30, 1969 in Ogden. A couple of years after their marriage his life was forever changed when missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints knocked on his door. He was baptized into the faith in 1971. He and Vicki’s marriage was solemnized in the Ogden Temple in 1972. Bill and Vicki spent the first years of their married life living in Lake Tahoe. He worked at the Nevada Lodge casino and also managed a local motel. They returned to Ogden in 1979 where he would live the rest of his life. Bill worked at the Standard-Examiner for 40 years as a circulation manager where he touched the lives of thousands of youth in Weber, Davis, Morgan and Box Elder Counties. He was an excellent salesman and earned over a dozen trips to Disneyland and other various places for himself, youth and his family members.
At the end of the day, everything he did was for his wife and daughters who were all the apple of his eye. His daughters both think of their dad as nearly perfect because of the respect and love he always gave them. He welcomed his son-in-laws as his own. The highlight of his life was when he became a grandpa. His grandchildren adore him in a special way as he developed personal, special relationships with each of them.
Bill was active in the LDS church, serving in many positions including the bishopric, high priest group leadership, branch presidency, Sunday School and primary teacher. One of his favorite callings was when he served with Vicki as the baptism coordinators for the Ogden East Stake. He loved taking part in such a sacred duty each month.
Bill was recruited to play football for the Green Bay Packers by Vince Lombardi but as a life-long Dallas Cowboys fan he could not bring himself to play against his favorite team. He was an avid sports fan and also loved following BYU, the Texas Longhorns and his grandchildren at Ogden High School.
This gentle giant will be greatly missed by all his family and friends.
The family would like to pay special thanks to the first responders and ICU staff at McKay-Dee hospital who treated him with such kindness and great care.
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Internment at Ogden City Cemetery.
