On November 24, 2022, Keith L. Jackson passed away at the age of ninety-five at Carle Hospital in Champaign, Illinois. He is survived by his four daughters (Barbara Jackson O’Keefe, Sally Ann Jackson, Carol Jackson Devoy, and Mary Jackson Young) and their spouses; a sister, Maxine Borchers of Sarasota, Florida; and their children and grandchildren.
Keith’s parents, Robert and Maude Jackson, left their home in Tennessee shortly after their marriage and settled in Granite City, Illinois, where they remained through their lives. Keith built his family and career in Granite City as well, where he married Geraldine Greider in 1949 at the First United Presbyterian Church. They remained together until her death in 2018.
During high school, Keith began working as a draftsman at Commonwealth Steel (later to become General Steel Industries). His work was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the Army Corps of Engineers, supervising prisoners of war at a camp in the Philippines. Upon his return, he went back to work at General Steel while earning a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering at St. Louis University and a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Washington University. His experience and training allowed him to rise rapidly in the engineering division of General Steel. He became President and General Manager of GSI Engineering, an independent engineering design and licensing operation acquired by Lukens Industries, Inc. in 1981. In this role, he provided solutions for passenger rail systems being developed around the world, holding 23 domestic patents and many foreign patents by the time he retired.
As his career progressed, he found it convenient to relocate to Creve Coeur, Missouri; and then as he entered retirement, he and Geraldine moved to Sarasota, Florida. They were both avid golfers and valued members of the Greenbrier Hills Country Club in Kirkwood, MO and the Meadows Country Club in Sarasota. Keith had a lifelong love of music, and he sang in church choirs as a child and adult and in community choruses as a retiree.
Keith sent all four daughters to be educated at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and they all married UIUC graduates. Two of these couples still live in Champaign-Urbana. With all these family connections, Keith developed a love of Illini athletics, especially basketball, and was a frequent visitor to Champaign-Urbana. When Geraldine passed away, he chose to relocate and spent his remaining years there, in a community he and his family had come to love. At the time of his death, he was living in the Clark-Lindsey Green House.
A private family memorial service will be held at Renner Wikoff Chapel on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. Keith will be buried at Mount Olive Cemetery along with the ashes of Geraldine, who died February 13, 2018.
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