ALICE “JANE” JACKSON
09/02/1933 - 01/08/2023
Alice “Jane” Millett Jackson died January 8, 2023, at the age of 89 in Houston, Texas. During her final days, she was surrounded by the love of family. An only child, Jane was born September 2, 1933, in Louisville, Kentucky to Benjamin Zachary and Ollie (Price) Millett and was a life-long fan of the Kentucky Derby. She graduated from Edinburgh High School,
Class of 1951, in Edinburgh, Indiana and earned a nursing degree from Saint Vincent Hospital School of Nursing in Indianapolis, Indiana. While in nursing school, Jane met medical student Dr. Morton Douglas Willcutts, Jr., whom she married in June of 1955. Shortly after, they moved to Washington, D.C. where she worked for the National Institutes of Health. After living three years in Oakland, California and three years in Corpus Christi, Texas, they settled in Galesburg, Illinois to raise their children: Kathleen Marie, Michael David, Thomas Patrick, Brian Joseph, Sharon Anne, John Francis, Kevin Paul, and Maureen Diane. Following their divorce in 1970, Jane served as chief surgical nurse at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Galesburg. Desiring to be near her children attending Rice University, she moved to Houston, Texas in 1982.
In Houston, Jane joined the Methodist Hospital Genitourinary team of surgical nurses. It was there in the operating room Jane met the love of her life, Dr. Prentice Lamar Jackson, whom she married May 17, 1986. Lamar was attracted to Jane’s clever sense of humor and ability to hold her own with the male surgeons exchanging jokes around the operating table. In addition, he admired Jane’s intelligence and enjoyed their common interests. Through this marriage she gained four wonderful stepchildren: Dr. Jeffrey Allen, William Andrew, James Tucker, and Annabeth Jackson.
Jane and Lamar enjoyed hosting elaborate holiday dinners, Christmas cookie decorating parties, traveling the world, biking, and birding together. They were active members of the Texas Audubon Society spending hours recording birds along the Texas Gulf Coast and numerous other places during their travels. Jane’s popular birding excursions kept many fellow Houston birders happily engaged in local bird counting.
A woman of many talents and a great storyteller, Jane loved to play bridge, cook, sew, and quilt. She created quilts for her family and spent hours sewing costumes for her grandchildren’s theatre productions as well as for the Houston Grand Opera. An accomplished pianist, Jane accompanied her operaticsinging mother at church on Sundays growing up. She passed on her passion for music to her children and grandchildren. Jane’s love for ballet was no different. As a teen she loved to dance, a passion that followed her throughout her life as a dancer, instructor and avid supporter of the Houston Ballet.
Jane also enjoyed cooking, and with a discerning palette, she was known to come home from dining out and replicate or improve a dish to her satisfaction. Her love of art, particularly that of the Impressionists, led her to create three large-scale tapestries of Jean-Francois Millet’s various gleaners. A self-taught artist, Jane spent hours drawing and painting. She earned an honorable mention for her watercolor painting of American Wigeons, entered in the 1981 Illinois State Duck Stamp contest.
Jane is predeceased by her husband Dr. Lamar Jackson, and stepdaughter Annabeth Jackson Dugger (Steve).
She is survived by her children: Kathy Willcutts Beique (Marc) of Houston, TX, Dr. Michael Willcutts (Karen) of Irving, TX, Tom Willcutts of Hartford, CT, Brian Willcutts (Kate) of Grand Junction,
CO, Sharon Willcutts (Dan Havel) of Houston, TX, John Willcutts of Athens, GA, Kevin Willcutts of Houston, TX, Maureen Willcutts O’Neill (Peter) of Cleveland, OH, along with stepchildren: Dr. Jeff Jackson (Linda) of Sugar Land, TX, Andy Jackson (Mary) of Houston, TX, and Tucker Jackson (Patty Wentz) of Portland, OR.
Jane was the proud grandmother of 19 grandchildren: Rachel Willcutts,
Dr. David Willcutts (Elisa), Hope Willcutts Ganucheau (Luke), Pandora Willcutts, Emerson Willcutts, Gannon Willcutts, Olivia Havel, Chasah Willcutts Copenhaver (Brian), Joshua Willcutts, Rebecca Willcutts (Brian Medeiros), Pete O’Neill, Shane O’Neill, Dr. Greg Jackson, Liz Jackson Kelley (Ryan), Mattie Jackson, Ella Jackson, Daniel Ramos, Ashley Ramos Beal (G.C.), and Michael Ramos. She was also blessed with eight great-grandchildren.
Jane’s Visitation will be Friday, March 17th, 5:008:00 pm at Earthman
Bellaire Funeral Home. Her funeral service will be March 18th, 10:00 am at Earthman Bellaire, and will be live-streamed via a link on Earthman’s website. Jane had a charitable heart. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Houston Area Woman’s Center, Star of Hope Mission, or the Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy. www.hawc.org www.sohmission.org www.willowwaterhole.org