George John Jackowski Jr.'s Obituary
George “Jack” Jackowski died peacefully at the University of Florida Shands Medical Center on
February 14, 2015 after a short illness at the age of 87.
Jack is survived by his wife, Karen; children, Ruth Ann Woosley (Billy); George Jackowski (Joyce); Paul Jackowski; Valerie Jackowski (Curtis); Marcus Snider; Matthew Snider (Cindy); Kathryn Latham (Charles); eleven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his father George, mother Helen, his brother Robert, and son Curtis.
At the tender age of 7 years, Jack started putting old boards together and anything else he could find in the yard, to try and duplicate the flying machines he saw in the sky. He survived many an accident during the “test” flights. As a child at the age of 13, he designed and constructed a model airplane that won him a watch and interview with Orville Wright of the famous Wright Brothers. Finally reaching adulthood, he bought his first plane and learned how to fly “by the seat of his pants”, launching him into his lifelong love of Aviation. This passion was put on hold while he honorably served his Country, during the War, in the U.S. Army. Upon discharge, he established a career as an Accountant. It wasn’t long before he became very dissatisfied with sitting behind a desk all day, and would leave work in the evenings to go to building sites and observe the building of houses, office complexes, and whatever else was being built. On weekends and evenings, he experimented by designing and building his first house for his parents. It was a solid structure and people started asking him to build for them. That was the start of Jack’s successful career as a Designer and Builder of Fine Homes, specializing in multilevel structures on hilly landscapes. He held office in the Home Builder’s Association of Metropolitan Dayton, was a member of the Ohio State and the National Builder’s Home Associations, plus being a permanent member of the Building Standards Commission whose responsibility was to develop the building codes for the State of Ohio. Being self-employed allowed him to resume his passion for Aviation with the purchase of a Cessna 195. In 2003, he hosted a Fly-in, celebrating the 100th year anniversary of Flight, in Dayton, Ohio, the Home of Aviation. His devout Christian faith, strong love of family and Country, will be remembered always by those fortunate to be called his friend.
A funeral mass is scheduled for 10:00 am Saturday, February 21, 2015 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 928 Howard Street East, Live Oak, Fl. Fr. Andrzej Mitera will celebrate the Mass. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Jack’s life. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate honoring his love for his deceased son Curtis, by donations to The Curt Jackowski Scholarship Fund, c/o Westerville City Schools, 936 Eastwind Drive, Westerville, Ohio, 43081
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