Jay W. Jackson,

of Rogers, died Friday, March 6, 2020. He was born January 25, 1926 in Atkins, Ark. He was a member of Central United Methodist Church in Rogers.

Jay was preceded in death by his parents, Jay and Vera Reynolds Jackson, sisters Martha Marks and Willa Jackson.

He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Patsy Patton Jackson, his daughters; Janan Jackson Foster, Susan Jackson Keller, two grandchildren; Jennifer Wiens (Dustin), Matt Keller (Alison), four great-grandchildren, Rhett, Carter, Madilyn Wiens and Ellie Keller all of Rogers and one sister, Bobbie McGoogan (Bill) of North Little Rock.

During WWII he served in the U. S. Army Air Corps and was a nose gunner on a B-24. He attended Hendrix College in Conway two years and graduated from the University of Missouri in 1950 with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism.

Jay came to Clinton in 1951 to become Editor of the Van Buren County Democrat. He married Patsy Patton on May 21, 1953. They were publisher and co-publisher for 47 years.

Jackson served on the Board of Directors of the Arkansas Press Association for six years and was President of the Association in 1968. He served as State Chairman of the National Newspaper Association several years. Jay was a member of a group of U. S. publishers to make the last KOB, Know Ontario Better tour in 1965. He made other tours of Canada as Chairman of the International Relations Committee of NNA. Jay represented NNA at an annual convention of the Canadian Press Association at Halifax, Nova Scotia as State Chairman. He spent a week in Cairo, Egypt in 1995 on a tour sponsored by the Egyptian-American Cooperation Association.

In Clinton, he was President of the Chamber of Commerce for four years; secretary and president of the Clinton Lions Club; and secretary and president of Choctaw Shrine Club, a unit of Scimitar Shrine Temple of Little Rock. Jay served more than 20 years on the Board of Trustees of Van Buren County Library and as a member of Clinton City Council from 1971 through 2001. He was a retired member of the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department and served on the Board of Directors of Clinton State Bank from 1986 until 2000. He has been a member of Van Buren County Farm Bureau since 1951; Greers Ferry Lake Association from its inception in 1965 and received a Distinguished Service Award in 1990 for 25 years in the association. Jay received a Distinguished Service Award from Arkansas Press Association in February 1998. Along with his wife, Patsy, he received a Merchant of the Year Award from the Clinton Chamber of Commerce in January 1998.

The Jacksons moved to Rogers in 2003, to be closer to their family.

Visitation will be held Monday, March 9, 2020 at the Clinton United Methodist Church at 1 p.m. Services to follow at 2 p.m. with Rev. George O’Dell officiating. Burial will follow in Clinton Cemetery.

For online guestbook, www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/clinton.