- Date Of Birth: October 12, 1946
- Date Of Death: July 28, 2022
- State: Georgia
Dr. Ben Douglas Jackson of Greensboro, Georgia, died Thursday, July 28, 2022, at age 75. He was born in Cullman, AL on October 12, 1946, to the late Ben Alick Jackson and Woodie Frances Clemons Jackson. On June 7, 1986, he married the former Sheila Ann Morton. They lived in Watkinsville, GA for 27 years before moving to Greene County two years ago. He was the past president of the Oconee Historical Society. His many interests included woodworking, golfing, bluegrass music, fishing, and cooking. He was a lifelong fan of the Houston Astros, the New Orleans Saints, and the Tour de France. Ben was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend to many.
After graduating from Beaumont High School in Beaumont, TX, he obtained his BBA from Lamar University and his MS in Forestry and PhD in Forest Economics from Texas A&M University. He was an Associate Professor of Forestry for ten years at Louisiana State University before joining the faculty of the University of Georgia in 1990. He retired in 2019, becoming Professor Emeritus after 28 years.
He was active in several professional organizations including the Society of American Foresters, WEVA, and the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals (ANREP), where he was elected President and provided leadership during a time of great growth for the organization. He later went on to serve this organization in a variety of capacities including historian, archivist, and photographer. He also oversaw one of the nation’s leading continuing professional forestry education efforts in the country and had an appointment with the University of Georgia’s Continuing Education Center to develop new short courses for natural resource professionals. He was always interested in adding new and innovative programs to the annual short course schedule and went out of his way to be as inclusive as possible by inviting Warnell professors and others to teach the courses.
He enjoyed a good joke or two, socializing with his friends and colleagues, and a game of golf now and then. He was known for his grilling expertise at the annual meeting of the Southern Regional Extension Foresters where he could easily cook 30 steaks to order without a complaint in the house.
