Betty/Grace Jean (Grassel) Jackson |
| Posted 2022-08-26 by mhenderson |
| Published by Mohave Daily News Online on Aug. 26, 2022 - Bullhead City, Arizona - Betty/Grace Jean Jackson, age 99, passed away in her sleep on Saturday, May 21, 2022, from congestive heart failure. She was born August 13, 1922 (Friday the 13th) to John and Mary Grassel. When she was born her parents thought, for some reason, they were going to have a boy and had not discussed girls' names, should they have a daughter. When her mother was asked for a name to put on the birth certificate, she accepted the suggestion of her Doctor and named her "Betty Jean" after his wife. When her father heard this he said that he would have named her "Grace," Because she was here by the Grace of God, for this reason, she was known as Grace or Gracie Grassel/Jackson, throughout the first part of her life. Her parents had immigrated from Austria-Hungry to avoid the draft after they were married, as the Empire began drafting all available young men to rebuild it's army. John Grassel came from, what is now Yugoslavia and Mary Romatz, came from what is now Romania, although both were of German descent and spoke German as their first language. They ended up in Detroit, Michigan and lived in a little German community, where Mary became known for her Hungarian cooking and John, who worked at Cadillac Motors, moonlighted as the neighborhood mechanic. Grace was the last living child, of ten children, two of which died very young, but the remaining eight maintained continual contact until the end of their lives. She had four sisters; Anna Franks, Helen Smisek, Katherine Lasky and Pauline Jar; and three brothers, John, Joseph and Frederick Grassel. Grace (legally Betty) Grassel married Ray Wesley Jackson II, from Montpelier, Ohio on April 11, 1942 and they had one son, Ray Wesley Jackson III, born September 7, 1943. She had two grandchildren, Roberto Ramon Jackson, and Remy Danielle Jackson, as well as two great- grandchildren, Benny Jackson, and Rayven Jackson, Gaylor. Grace's career as Betty, started at the Telephone Company in Detroit after High School. But a year and a half after her marriage she gave birth to her only child and became a homemaker cooking, gardening and, being an accomplished seamstress, made a lot of her own clothes. Shortly after their son's birth, her husband was drafted and she followed him to San Antonio, Texas where they resided until the end of the War. When the War was over, they returned to Detroit where her husband worked at General Motors and eventually they purchased a home. They moved to Dearborn, Michigan around 1949 when her husband was hired by Ford Motor Company and she began working for the Dearborn School System as a secretary when her son grew older. Their free time was frequently spent socializing and traveling around her husbands many interests, the biggest of which was flying, and the family traveled to many Glider Meets around the country. By the time their son left home for college and her and husband retired from Ford's, she had worked her way into a secretarial position at Henry Ford Community College and began interacting and socializing with more people from work, who knew her as Betty. On June 26, 1975, her husband was killed in an airplane accident while flying a mail route between Detroit, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio. In the aftermath of the funeral and other arraignments and changes that were required, she and her son visited friends in Lake Havasu, Arizona, where they purchased a lot and decided to build a house. Both moved to Lake Havasu where Betty got a Real Estate License and worked as a Realtor for several years before totally retiring after her granddaughter, Remy Danielle was born. By this time most everybody around her knew her as "Betty," except for family and old friends whom she saw only occasionally, but continually spoke with by phone. While she lived as an independent lady, much of the remainder of her life which centered around her granddaughter, Remy. They traveled all over with the entire family, but took a lot of trips together, on their own. The longest of these trips was to England, to see grandson Rob and the great-grandkids. She and Remy went to the theater, concerts and frequently visited friends and family that were spread out all over the US. In the early 1990's her son met his destiny, Ann Pettit and since that time they planned their celebrations and many of their vacations together with the Pettit's. Ann helped and assisted her through many uncomfortable nights during her end-of-life, physical problems, and earlier bowel obstruction surgery. After moving to Bullhead City, Betty and Remy joined the Valley Christian Church where Remy continues to sing in the Choir. Betty totally managed her affairs and was alert and able to converse and function quite reasonably to the end. When the final days began to be apparent, she asked her son to make an appointment with her Doctor, and when ask why, said something like, "I don't know what's going on, but I just don't have any "zip." Having had major surgery for a bowel obstruction years earlier, she indicated that she did not want to go thru that kind of thing again and said she was not afraid to die. She always attributed her longevity to clean living, vitamins, and her very strong faith in God. Her body was cremated and placed in a crypt at Desert Lawn Cemetery. A final service is being held for her at Valley Christian Church at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 27, 2022 located at: 1706 N. Oatman Rd, Bullhead City, AZ 86442 See Also: Find A Grave |
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