Shirley Joyce Jackson, age 88, was born in Dukes, Florida on September 27, 1931 to Russell and Vera (Dukes) Hewitt. Accepting Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior at the young age of 12 was something she wrote about in her personal journal. She remembered the details of the day as if it were yesterday. She remembered walking down the aisle as "Just As I Am" was being played on the near piano. Her favorite Bible verses were 1 Corinthians 13 and John 3:16. Her lifelong prayer was that each of her children and their families would come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

She married the late Oliver James "Jimmy" Jackson on May 13, 1951 and resided in Jacksonville, FL until his death in 1975. They were both blessed with six children: Sara (Arthur) Nussel of Williston, FL, Lynn (Gary) Hicks of Jacksonville, FL, Darlene (Matt) Blanzy of Oviedo, FL, Charlene (Bobby) Hickman of Jacksonville, FL, Lisa (Michael) Harris of Callahan, FL, and James Darrell "Jim" (Katherine) Jackson of Yulee, FL. Both Jimmy and Shirley loved music and often shared in song while Shirley played the piano in church at the Highlands United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, FL. Lisa remembers her mother playing the piano while her father sang "He Touched Me." Both Shirley and Jimmy instilled the love of music into all of their children. Shirley often shared her piano playing with others up until the end of 2019.

After the death of Jimmy, she remained in their home in Jacksonville until the early 1980s. She then moved to Yulee, FL in 1982 and resided there until 1994 when she moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, Lynn and Gary Hicks. She resided there until 2008.

In April of 2008 she married James "Ralph" Falkner and lived in Waynesville, NC until May of 2016. At this time they sold their beautiful mountain home and moved to Magnolia Manor in St. Mary's, GA where they lived until Ralph passed away in January of 2020. Shirley spent her remaining days living at Osprey Village in Fernandina Beach, FL.

Shirley is survived by her children, 11 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, and loving God-daughter, Mary (Jeff) Saltzer.

Shirley's family would especially like to thank the incredible staff at both Magnolia Manor and Osprey Village as well as two special care-givers, Darlene McCullough and Sandy Edenfield. The love and care that was provided by all to their mother is deeply appreciated and the family is forever grateful.

A celebration of Shirley's life will be held on Saturday, April 4, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at Nassau Funeral Home in Callahan, FL with Pastor Dan Krupp officiating. Internment will be in Lochloosa, FL at Tompkins Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Community Hospice and Palliative Care of Nassau County.