MAJ Ralph Hardison Jackson, US Army (Ret.), age 82, of Murfreesboro, TN passed away Wednesday, November 22, 2023. He was born in Mt. Juliet, TN to the late Samuel Russell and Clara Mae Jackson. He graduated from Mt. Juliet High School Class of 1959 as co-Valedictorian. MAJ Jackson attended Middle Tennessee State College (MTSU) and was a member of the ROTC program. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Economics and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the US Army in August 1963, where he served for more than 20 years. He was a paratrooper in the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions achieving his Senior Parachutist Badge. He would go on to receive his Air Assault and Combat Infantryman Badge before becoming a Nuclear Weapons Technician. MAJ Jackson served five overseas tours including two tours in Vietnam. He earned many awards during his service including three Bronze Stars, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, and three Army Commendation Medals. MAJ Jackson also earned the Vietnam Service Medal with seven Campaign Stars.

After his retirement from the Army, he worked for the IRS and as a corrections officer for CCA. MAJ Jackson enjoyed traveling the world with his wife, Dot. He loved working in his yard and garden and played racquetball throughout his adult life until he was 70.

MAJ Jackson is survived by his wife, Dorothy "Dot" Jackson; sons, Russell H. Jackson and his wife Jill and Sean R. Jackson and his wife Lisa; grandchildren, Chelsea Jackson, Lauren Lick, Caleb Elliott and his wife Victoria, Gracie LaBreche and her husband Christian, Brendan Jackson, and Annaclaire Jackson; great-grandchildren, Carter Jackson and Oaklyn Elliott; cousin, Joyce Anderson and her husband Arlis; and nieces and nephews, Alisa McMurtry, Debbie Jackson, Daryl Sexton, and Chris Sexton.

Along with MAJ Jackson's parents, he was predeceased by his brother, James Clifford Jackson; his sister, Provie Ann Sexton; daughter, Tamara A. Elliott; and great-granddaughter, Ameryn Avon Jackson.

For those who wish, memorials may be made to the Tennessee State Veterans Home at https://tsvh.org/support-tsvh/ in memory of MAJ Jackson.

Visitation with the family will be Friday, December 8, 2023 from 12:00noon until 2:00pm at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. A Celebration of Life with Military Honors will be held Friday, December 8, 2023 at 2:00pm at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself. Philippians 3:20-21 (CSB)