Linda M. (Schifftner) Jackson

Linda Marie Jackson returned home and was reunited with her parents on Tuesday, July 28th due to complications from kidney disease.

Linda was predeceased by her parents, Florence Frances (née Funder) Schifftner and Otto Joel Schifftner.  Linda is survived by her loving husband, Glenn H. Jackson of 52 years, and will live on through her five children that she liked to refer to as the Jackson 5 that couldn’t sing: Margaret Marie Jackson (Waterbury, CT), Katherine Cecelia Jackson (Danbury, CT), Sarah Lynn Jackson (Danbury, CT), Douglas Otto Jackson (Middletown, CT), and Victoria Lynn Jackson (Wingdale, NY). Linda is also survived by her granddaughter Kaitlynn Marie Jackson-Slocum, her grandson Jacob Otto Arrowitz and her granddaughter Alarra Quinn.

Linda grew up in Franklin Lakes, NJ, in a house she remembers her father and uncles building together in the 1950’s. After getting married, Linda moved to CT with her husband where they raised their family. She was able to return to her childhood home for almost the last decade of her life.

In her younger years after getting married, Linda helped establish an African Violet Club (local chapter) in Norwalk CT, with her husband as two of the founding members. Linda and her husband would display their African Violets at shows and won several ribbons and national recognition. Through this club, is where Linda met Sharon and Richard Strempski, who became her lifelong friends and announced them Godparents to two of her five children.

Linda valued higher education immensely. She grew up during a time where education after high school was not a given for women; not necessarily a standard. She wanted her kids to pursue an education and felt that if she was going to encourage it for them, she needed to lead by example.  So at the age of 40, she enrolled in classes and Linda received her B.A. in Psychology from Western Connecticut State University. In addition, she did go to nursing school and also went on to receive her paralegal certificate.

Linda leaves behind quite a legacy, as she honored those that passed before her, through her genealogy research which she enjoyed doing with her cousin Cathy Quinn.  Linda had such an affinity for dates and could recite from memory birth dates and death dates at a drop of a hat for a slew of ancestors. She was also active in a Dutch family organization for descendants of David Ackerman who came to America in 1662 (DAD-1662) where she served as newsletter editor.

Other activities Linda enjoyed included crocheting, reading, gardening and attending performances of Handel’s Messiah.  Perhaps most notable was her love of the UCONN Huskies men and women’s basketball teams. If you knew Linda, you knew not to call and interrupt her when the Huskies were playing.

She will be incredibly missed by her family and friends.

The family will receive friends from 10:00am to 11:00am on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at the Vander Platt Funeral Home., www.vpfh.com, 257 Godwin Ave, Wyckoff, NJ 07481.  With a Funeral service following at 11:00am.  Interment will take place at the Laurel Grove Memorial Park in Totowa.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Linda’s memory can be made to one of the following organizations;
The Southington Jaycees College Scholarship Fund, PO Box 504, Southington, CT. 06489, www.southingtonjaycees.com or The National Kidney Foundation, Finance Department, 30 East 33rd Street, New York, NY. 10016 or www.kidney.org/donate.

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