Claude Elvin Jackson or “Butch”

All

are welcome to attend the memorial for our dear friend Butch Jackson. The memorial will be held at Hearthstone School 11576 Lee Hwy, Sperryville, VA. on April 6th at 1pm. BBQ will be provided along with beverages but feel welcome to bring anything you like to celebrate the love my father shared with those around him. A PA system will be set up for anyone who would like to join in on a pickin’ party or share stories about Butch.

On January 28, with family and friends at his bedside, Claude Elvin Jackson or “Butch” as he is known by his loved ones – died peacefully at Hospice of the Piedmont’s Acute Care Center in Charlottesville. His death came after a month’s struggle with pancreatic cancer; he was 57.

My father was born in Washington D.C. Hospital Center February 13th, 1966 and grew up on a multigenerational farm in the house built by his maternal grandfather. The same house where his mother was born and where I was raised until we moved into Gid Brown Hollow in early Spring of 2004.

Butch worked as a small business owner operating a gravedigging business he became part owner in after the passing of renowned Appalachian Bluegrass musician John Jackson with John’s son James. He serviced much of Northern Virginia along with most of the cemeteries in Rappahannock County since relocating there.

For his entire life Butch surrounded himself with music. He began playing banjo as a child and he continued honing his skills as a musician his whole life playing guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin and steel lap guitar. He also fostered and encouraged musical talent in all those around him. If you thought you weren’t good enough my dad would tell you otherwise and let you know what could be improved. He encouraged my love of theater and he later would participate in One Thousand Faces productions in the Rappahannock Community. Whether it was playing, dancing, or supporting any way he could, the arts held a dear place in his heart.

Butch Jackson’s greatest influence on this world is a legacy of true kindness. Humble as always, he would play it off as just being neighborly, but those who have experienced it know that my father was saintly in his dutiful support of those around him. He extended this kindness to his animal friends as well, adopting three dogs from the Rappahannock Animal Welfare League over the course of his life, as well as raising livestock with care.

To know my dad meant you knew true kindness. To be one of his friends or family meant you knew love. To be his son meant you were the luckiest kid alive. Although this loss is great, I still feel lucky due to the incredible love and support I've received. His legacy is one of kindness and care. Thank you Dad for all you gave me and gave to the world around you.

Butch is survived by his mother, Chrystene Jackson Paine and his stepfather, Earl Paine (Montross, VA); his son Zackery Jackson, wife Belle and granddaughter Prim (Nashville, Tennessee); sister Lucille Jackson Ball and husband, Kevin ; nieces Shanna and Shelly and nephews Troy and Miles, and stepsiblings Jeri, Karen, Bob and John. He was preceded in death by his father, Fred Jackson, and niece Megan Frew.

- Zackery Jackson