William "Bill" Jackson, 89, of Columbus, Nebraska, died Thursday, July 7, 2022, at Faith Regional Hospital, Norfolk, Nebraska.

The funeral service will be held on Tuesday, July 12 at 2:00 PM, at Gass Haney Funeral Home with Pastor Ollie Fullmer officiating. Interment with military honors by The American Legion Hartman Post 84 Honor Guard, will be in Roselawn Memorial Cemetery in Columbus. Visitation will be on Monday from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM and continue on Tuesday from 1:00 PM until service time, all at the funeral home. A reception will be held at Wunderlich's Catering following the burial.

William E. "Bill" Jackson was born in Elk City, Oklahoma, on February 11, 1933. After living a short time in Tulsa, his family returned to Burns Flat, Oklahoma, where he lived his entire school-age years and graduated from Burns Flat High School as an honor student in 1951.

During his adolescent years most of his free time was spent on a baseball field. Even though it started out as something to keep a restless boy busy during the hot Oklahoma summers, baseball became an important part of his life. He pitched his team to state championships both his junior and senior years in high school. Success on the ballfield enabled Bill to receive a college education as he received a full tuition scholarship to Southwestern State Oklahoma in Weatherford, from which he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in education in 1956. Records show that he did not lose a collegiate baseball game and racked up more than 25 wins. Although he had opportunities to pitch for two different pro teams, a rotator cuff injury prevented him from becoming a pro.

After earning a college degree, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served two years in the 8th Medical Battalion with most of that time spent in Germany.

With his military obligations out of the way, Bill could begin the profession for which he prepared. He signed a contract to teach Business Education and coach basketball at Gurley, Nebraska, where he met and married Jeanette Freudenberg. They had two sons, Travis and Scott. Bill left Gurley to attend Wayne State College on a graduate assistantship to earn his M.A. degree.

The Jackson family then moved to Minden, Nebraska, where Bill taught for two and a half years. He left teaching to become Area Director with Great Plains Lutheran Hospitals in Phillipsburg, Kansas. Baseball reentered his life. He helped coach a legion team to a state championship. It wasn't long before Bill missed teaching. A brief job hunt brought the Jacksons to Columbus where Bill taught at Columbus High for 25 years. The locale changed, but the magnetism for baseball didn't. He was active in the Columbus baseball program coaching in the Major League, Pony League, and Junior Legion. On January 31, 2009, Bill was inducted into the Southwestern Oklahoma State University Athletic Hall of Fame.

During his fifty-plus years in Columbus, Bill served in many leadership roles including in the Masonic Lodge, Columbus Education Association, and Trinity Lutheran Church where he was a member and taught Sunday School and served as Sunday School Superintendent.

Bill is survived by his wife, Jeanette, son, Scott (Kathy) of Columbus; daughter-in-law, Brenda, of Arlington, TX; three grandchildren, Kristina, of Manhattan, KS; Leslie, of Allen, TX; and Timothy (Danielle) and great-grandsons Zander and Maverick of Columbus; brother W.L. (Gwen) Jackson of Chickasha, OK, and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his son, Travis; parents, Jess and Jewel Jackson.