by CLEVELAND, Tenn. – William Ronald Jackson, a longtime president and CEO of Jackson Furniture, died on April 22 after a battle with cancer and Parkinson’s Disease. He was 77.
Jackson was born on Sept. 24, 1944, the son of Ray and Alice Jewell Jackson. A native of Cleveland, he attended Arnold Elementary School in Cleveland and the McCallie School in Chattanooga. He received his BBA from Goizueta Business School at Emory University, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order.
He also served in the Air National Guard following college.
In 1961, he began working for the family business, Cleveland Chair Company, where he learned to make chairs using traditional construction methods. Five years later, he started working full time in the office and in 1975 was promoted to president of Jackson Manufacturing Company and Cleveland Chair Company.
He became CEO when the two companies merged into Jackson Furniture Industries and was instrumental in the development of the company’s Pow’r Lounger, a major step in its evolution into motion furniture.
He was described as having a passion for making quality mid-priced furniture and also for creating meaningful work for his employees that provided them many years of financial security.
In 2012 he received a pin for his 50 years of service to the company and continued to work for many more years.
He was a lifetime member of the Broad Street United Methodist Church and during summers growing up, he attended Mount Carmel United Methodist Church, which his grandparents helped organize in Meigs County.
He also was a longtime supporter of the United Way of the Ocoee Region, the Museum Center at Five Points and the Cleveland Bradley Public Library. He also was a member of the American Furniture Manufacturers Association and served on the AFMA board in the 1990s.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister-in-law Sandy Shores Jackson.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Carolyn Bridgers Jackson, of Cleveland, his son, Keith Jackson and his wife Amanda Thompson Jackson and his grandchildren, Norris Jackson and Jilliam Jackson, all of Chattanooga, his sister, Virginia Matheny and her husband Leo Matheny, of Cleveland, a brother, Roger Jackson, of Cleveland and a niece and several nephews, Amy Matheny of Chicago, Hank Matheny, of Cleveland, Tom Jackson, of Chattanooga and Mark Jackson and his daughters, Phoebe and Imogene, of San Angelo, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be given to Broad Street United Methodist Church or to a charity of one’s choice.
Individuals are invited to send message of condolence and view the Jackson family guestbook at www.ralphbuckner.com
