5 December 1932 – 21 July 2011
John Christopher Jackson was born on 5 December 1932 at Kilnerton Methodist Missionary Institution where his father, Charles Jackson, was a teacher and later headmaster. He attended Hatfield Primary School and then moved on to Pretoria Boys’ High for his secondary education where his older brother, Norman, had been a pupil..
Chris played the flute for the orchestra, including for a couple of performances of Gilbert and Sullivan operas, which left him with a lasting love of Gilbert and Sullivan’s music. He enjoyed his school years and excelled at tennis. Last year Chris attended the 60th anniversary celebration for the matric class of 1950 and was very impressed with the School as it is today.
Chris obtained his diploma as a quantity surveyor at the University of Pretoria and joined the firm of Borckenhagen and Louw as a student. They sent him to work in Bloemfontein, where he met and married Merle Sutherland. After four years in Bloemfontein they returned to Pretoria where their children Adrian and Pamela were born. Adrian is also an old boy of Boys’ High. Chris spent all his working life working for the same firm and became a partner in 1968. When he retired he was a director of the Pretoria branch of the firm as well as being a director of Borckenhagen Inc.
Chris was involved in many community projects as a local preacher in the Methodist Church and as a founding member of Methodist Homes for the Aged. He was one of the founders of the Queenswood Methodist Old Aged Home almost forty years ago and served as Chairman of their Board for many years. He served on the Board of Directors of the Methodist Homes for the Aged from September 1982 to July 2000. In 1994 his service was recognized when he was made an Honorary Life Member of the organization.
Chris also served on the Board of the Queenswood Trust, a Methodist Trust that oversees the running of the Queenswood Galleries. All the profits from the Trust go to various Methodist missionary projects. After his retirement Chris took a more active voluntary role in the running of the Galleries and worked tirelessly for the Methodist Church.
His wife, Merle, died in 2003 and in 2005 he married Joan Millard who was a lecturer at John Wesley College, situated at his old home, Kilnerton. When the College moved to new premises at Pietermaritzburg, Chris and Joan both served on the committee which runs the Kilnerton Conference and Community Centre.
Chris passed away in the Heart Hospital on 21 July 2011 after a double by-pass operation.