Joan K. Jackson, PhD, wife of the late Stanley Jackson, MD, a former professor in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, passed away at her home in Bethany on August 14.
Joan Jackson partnered with her husband in his research -- he died in 2000 -- and fulfilled numerous professional editorial duties while creating a warm and welcoming home for family and friends, as well as legions of medical students, residents, and medical school colleagues.
She was born in 1922 in Parkhill, Ontario, Canada, and graduated from McGill University with a BA in sociology and anthropology, and a subsequent MA. She married Stanley Jackson in 1945.
She earned her PhD degree in sociology in 1955 from the University of Washington in Seattle. She published pioneering work on the effect of alcoholism on the family and on alcoholism and tuberculosis. In addition, she served on community, state, and national boards that provided treatment services to those affected by alcoholism.
The Jacksons left Seattle for New Haven in 1964 when Stanley Jackson became a faculty member with the Yale Departments of Psychiatry and History of Medicine. They moved to Bethany in 1976, and Joan Jackson became richly involved in many activities and affairs in the community.
After her husband's death in 2000, she intensified her community involvement. She accepted board membership in the area-wide adult education program "Learning in Retirement." She also worked as a polling supervisor at numerous elections, and made valuable contributions to various Bethany committees working to strengthen the community as well as the town's Democratic organization.
Joan Jackson was a remarkable person, smart and wise with a flashing sense of humor. She was an engaged mentor, a generous friend and a trustworthy confidant. She never hesitated to speak the truth as she perceived it, so one could receive her praise or criticism and feel secure in the affection and thoughtfulness it reflected. She was also a gracious hostess.