Patricia Lynn Jackson

Patricia Lynn Jackson lived a full and joyful life to the age of 60, when she suddenly passed away while sleeping at her home on August 30, 2010. Patricia, known as Trish by her family and friends, was recognized in her home town of Coon Rapids as a caretaker, beloved mother, loving spouse and a bit of a thrill seeker, too. Trish was born on August 22, 1950. Her mother, Beverly McGill, and father, Ronald McGill, knew she was special from the beginning. The oldest of 11 children, Trish was a caretaker from the start. She grew up with her family in Minnesota, graduating from Fargo South High School in 1968. She then went on to obtain a nursing degree at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, MN, where she graduated in 1972. While they didn’t cross paths often during college, the love of her life, Dean Jackson, also attended Gustavus. The two eventually met at the wedding of a mutual friend, and soon wedding bells were ringing for them as well. Dean and Trish were joined in marriage on July 28, 1973. They could not have been more in love. Trish worked various nursing jobs in her life, including positions at Hennepin County General Hospital NICU and Minneapolis Public Health Nursing in Minneapolis, Dodge County Public Health Nursing in Wisconsin, St. Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll, IA and Greene County Public Health in Iowa. She was also a registered day care provider. Dean and Trish welcomed daughter Tia (Jackson) Hilgenberg into the world while they lived in Minnesota and then moved to the small town of Coon Rapids, IA. There they welcomed three more children into their family, sons Eric and Ben Jackson and daughter Alyssa Jackson. Trish’s destiny and self-proclaimed greatest achievement during her life was raising four wonderful children. She raised them in a home of joy and delighted in every moment she spent with them. She loved them so much that she followed them to school, becoming the nurse for the Coon Rapids - Bayard School District in 1990. From there, she spread her caring nature amongst the entire Coon Rapids community. Working at the school with her husband, who is a sixth grade teacher, allowed the family the opportunity to spend school days and summer vacations together. She always sought out adventurous experiences with her family such as getting a tattoo, sky diving, zip lining, backpacking, climbing many mountains, whitewater rafting and attending space camp. She even went on safaris in Africa, although she wasn’t fond of a few of the wildlife encounters. If she wasn’t on an adventure, she was surely planning one. Trish volunteered her time as a member of the Coon Rapids Public Library Board, CU TTT and the National Association of School Nurses/Iowa School Nurse Organization. She was also a volunteer EMT for the Coon Rapids Ambulance Service, giving back to the community she so loved. However, she was never happier than when her family grew larger by the addition of grandchildren. Trish had seven grandchildren at the time of her passing, Keenan, Christian, Ashly, Carter, Carson, Kellen and Kallie. She could often be found at the dream home her husband built for her playing with her grandchildren day after day. She held aloft a mother’s wing for her children, their partners and countless others. She was a light in the lives of everyone who knew her. Trish is survived by her husband, Dean Jackson, and her children, Tia (Jackson) Hilgenberg and husband Trevor Hilgenberg, Eric Jackson and partner Sarah Cooper, Ben Jackson and partner Jessica Swanner, Alyssa Jackson and fiancé Chad Elliott, and her mother and father, Ronald and Beverly McGill, and her sisters, Rosemary (McGill) Lee, Ann Marie (McGill) Peterson, Peggy (McGill) Mitchell, Missy (McGill) Golubski, Bridget (McGill) Meyers, Tina (McGill) Stutheit, and her brothers, Mike McGill, Joel McGill, Christopher McGill, and her grandchildren, Keenan Bock, Christian, Carter, Carson, Kellen and Kallie Hilgenberg and Ashly Elliott. Trish’s hope was to be remembered as she was – full of life. A “Celebration of Life” will be held in Trish’s honor on Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 2 p.m. at the Coon Rapids - Bayard High School gymnasium. Trish’s family invites the public to attend this celebration.