Parents: Edwin Murray and Mary Isabel (Johnson) Jackson
William "Bill" Maynard Jackson, age 92, passed away on Sunday, July 25, 2021, in Marion, Indiana.
Bill Jackson graduated from Northside High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, after the family moved to Fort Wayne from Monroeville, Indiana. After graduation, he joined the Marine Corps in 1946. He went to Paris Island, South Carolina, for his training. Bill was an excellent basketball player and, while at Paris Island, he was asked to try out for the Marine basketball team. His platoon was sent to China, but Bill stayed in the United States and played basketball for the Corps.
If you would ask Bill what the Marines did for him, he would say, "The Marines broke me down and then built me up. They taught me that I am a Marine, and I could do anything." After the Marines, he went to Algona, Iowa, to be a clerk for the railroad. He got married and they had a baby in Iowa and was interested in returning to Indiana. A friend of his told him a foundry in Bluffton, Indiana, needed a shipping clerk. Bill applied and got the job. He went to the Fort Wayne library and looked up "foundry" to see what he was getting into. He found NOTHING on the subject. He was 21 and, by age 24, was running the Sterling Casting in Bluffton. Whenever someone quit or got fired, the owner asked who can we get to do the work that was left open? Bill, with the Marine attitude, said, "I can do it." That is how he got to be the General Manager by 24.
Bill was in the foundry business for nearly 50 years: beginning at Sterling Foundry in Bluffton, Indiana; Three Rivers Castings in Three Rivers, Michigan; Crawfordsville Foundry in Crawfordsville, Indiana; then back to Sterling Foundry; then to Marion Foundry and Machine in Marion, Indiana; then to Indiana McKay Foundry in Muncie, Indiana; and finally to Bahr Bros Mfg. in Marion, Indiana. He bought Bahr Bros Mfg. in November 1966 and sold it to his son, Jeff, in 1999.
Bill took his years of experience in employee management and business success to become the founder of WM Jackson Consulting. This consulting firm helped company owners set up employee Gainsharing Plans to increase productivity and employee earnings. The company consulted with over 600 companies all over the United States and Mexico. He was also the owner of Eastern Electrical Supply in Muncie, Indiana. Bill invested in farm ground near Upland, Indiana. He spent summers in his cabin on a pond in Indiana and winters playing golf in Mazatlán, Mexico. He loved living in both places.
He loved to play golf and enjoyed his winter home in Mazatlán, where he acquired the nickname Memo Villa. He became involved in supporting a local agency offering services to families and children in need in Mazatlán. He started the "Memo Villa Golf Tournament, Rally for the Kids" over ten years ago. The tournament and fundraiser resulted in large donations to La Familia. Bill, known as Memo, visited the La Familia Center often, helped organize parties for the children, and supported their efforts year-round.
Bill Jackson has been active in community activities and associations. He was on the Board of the National Foundry Society and the Board of Bank One in Marion, Indiana. He has written two books on business management: "Jackson Gainsharing: Boosting Productivity, Quality and Profit" in 1996 and "Respect: Success Starts Here" in 1998.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Phyllis (Reuille) Jackson, and his second wife, Janis (Laughner) Jackson.
He is survived by two sons, Jeff (Shelby Clayton) Jackson and Clif Jackson; daughter, Emily Jackson; six grandchildren, Shannon (Butch) Holter, Kelly (Robin Collard) Jackson, Misti (Scott) Bratcher, Blain (Dianna Combs) Jackson, Kylie (Scott) Lee, and Jason (Michelle) Shupe; nine great-grandchildren; as well as many friends in Indiana and in Mazatlán, Mexico.
The family will have a private memorial to celebrate Bill's life.
Arrangements are entrusted to Integrity Funeral Care, 2901 S. Washington St., Marion, IN.
Family Members
Spouse
Phyllis Ann Reuille Jackson
1929–2020 (m. 1949)
