Obituary
Martha Ann Jackson, 82, of Springfield, Missouri, died peacefully on February 2, 2024. Martha was born on July 9, 1941, in Eldon, Missouri.
Growing up on a farm near Lake of the Ozarks, Martha was quickly acquainted with the concept of hard work and long days as she assisted with her parent’s farm and her mother’s chicken processing business. To the end she could break down a whole chicken cleaner and faster than any trained chef. While her cooking may be considered simple by some, she was an excellent cook and a wonderful baker, with her Angel Food Cake with White Mountain Icing being constantly requested for every church and social gathering she attended.
In early 1960, Martha met Robert “Bob” Jackson on a misadventure of a blind date arranged by each of their best friends. After a whirlwind courtship, Martha and Bob were married on July 15, 1960, and settled down in Richland, Missouri, where their sons were born in November 1961 and October 1964.
After Martha and Bob moved their young family to Springfield, Missouri in 1968, Martha set about expanding her role as an excellent homemaker to include seamstress and cafeteria cook for Springfield Public Schools, where she worked for over 23 years. As a seamstress, she made and altered clothes for countless people from a small room in her home. For more than a decade most junior high and high school cheerleaders in Springfield wore uniforms made or altered, and often both, by Martha. She also made dozens of bridal gowns and numerous bridesmaid dresses. However, she considered her greatest creation to be the bridal gown she made and helped design for one of her future daughter’s-in-law, which included intricate hand-sewn bead work that took hundreds of hours to complete.
In addition to her two jobs, Martha also somehow managed to chauffeur her sons and their friends to numerous athletic events and other activities. She rarely missed a game in which her sons played and at each she vocally let the referees and umpires know of every missed call. After her sons’ sports days were over, she transferred her spectator’s passion to the Missouri State University men’s basketball team, for which she and Bob had season tickets for many years.
Martha was a woman of abiding faith who deeply and unequivocally loved her family and her husband of over 61 years. Martha was strong-willed and was not shy about letting you know where she stood or what she believed about any issue. But she was also incredibly patient and a good listener to anyone in need to be heard. In doing so, she touched the lives of countless people in the Springfield community and beyond.
Martha is survived by her two sons, Kenneth Jackson and wife Brenda of Springfield, Missouri, and Gerald Jackson and wife Betsy of Tulsa, Oklahoma; three grandchildren, Darren Leader and wife Courtney, Cassie Reed and husband Blake, and Taylor Custis; nine great grandchildren, Gabe, Nathan and Mollie Jo Reed, Braydin, Braxtyn, Cyrina and Billie Grace Leader, and Kolton and Averie Custis; her brother Michael Atkisson and wife Jackie; niece Misti Atkisson; and nephew David Atkisson and wife Tabitha. She was preceded in death by her husband Bob and her parents, Clint and Maybelle Atkisson.
The family extends their deepest appreciation and thanks for the recent care and attention given to Martha by the staff of Magnolia Square Nursing and Rehab and Seasons Hospice.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, from 6-8 p.m., and the funeral on Thursday, February 8, 2024, at 10 a.m. at the Klingner-Cope Family Funeral Home at Rivermonte, 4500 Lone Pine Ave., Springfield, Missouri, with burial to follow.