Dick S. Jackson (known by many as Dr. Dick) died at home with his wife, Terri by his side on Oct. 18, 2020 at the age of 88.
He was born on Sept. 15, 1932 in Dayton, Wash.
He came into this world the second to the last child of Walter and Gertrude Jackson, following his beautiful sisters, Wynona, Laura and Grace and his brothers, Scott, Grant and Ronald, the youngest.
The family lived in various places throughout Washington, including Pasco, Richland, Prosser and Sunnyside. He graduated from Sunnyside High School in 1950 and joined the Navy. He went to boot camp in San Diego and parachute rigger school in New Jersey, and he spent time in the Philippines.
He married Naley Blaak in 1952 and had five children, Arthur, Ardis, Anthony, Arlene and Alan. They initially settled in Grandview while he worked at Hanford, but he decided to go to college and study entomology, a curiosity and passion that intrigued him since he was a boy and first saw what DDT did to control the flies on the family farm.
He graduated from Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. in 1957 with his bachelor’s degree in just two years and 11 months. He worked for the Department of Entomology at WSU for one year before being hand-picked to work for USDA. The family moved to Hawaii and various other locations. While in Hawaii, he invented the world famous Jackson trap, which was used worldwide for years and is still in use today. The highlight of his career with USDA was the California medfly project, in which he eradicated the Mediterranean fruit fly with aerial spraying. He led this 18-month project with 1,800 employees, becoming the first person to accomplish this after several failed before him. This brought him many government awards and worldwide recognition. He then went to work for Foreign Service and spent time in Mexico
and South America, and retired shortly after. Realizing he was too young to retire, he was approached by his dear friend who was the assistant director for the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Dick went to work for the ag department in 1985 and retired from there in 2003.
He met the love of his life, Terri Lee Shelly, on Valentine’s Day 1986 in the lumber yard where she worked, when he came in for a gallon of paint. It was love at first sight for both of them. They went on their first date that night, and married six years later to the day in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho on Feb. 14, 1992. They had almost 35 years together and had something very special between them, as they were constantly told. Dick’s love for Terri was evident in so many ways, especially when he referred to her as “Baby”.
They had many adventures together traveling the world. A favorite destination for them was the Cook Islands, where they visited five times. In 1988, Dick accepted an assignment to work in Africa eradicating desert locusts, where he spent two months in Mauritania and Senegal. Upon completion of that project, he flew to Portugal to meet Terri, where they spent five weeks traveling through Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Egypt, realizing a lifelong dream of his, visiting the pyramids.
On his 81st birthday, after having a double bypass three months prior, he and Terri flew to Peru and spent 16 days with 10 of their closest friends, visiting Machu Picchu and the Galápagos Islands, where they found one of his Jackson traps. This was a trip of a lifetime for them.
Even though his career was entomology, his passion was collecting and repairing clocks. Many knew him as “The Clock Man”. Dick was a storyteller who always had a joke or two ready to share. He was famous for his jokes, most of them not very politically correct, but that was him.
He was known around town as the man with the pretty dogs in his pickup as he drove through town with all their heads out the windows. Terri and Dick were
dog lovers during their years together and had a variety of sighthounds including salukis, whippets, pharaoh hounds, Italian greyhounds, Cirneco dell’Etnas and one springer spaniel. They were their “kids” and they loved and cared for them as such.
Dick touched many lives – friends, family and employees – and made those around him feel loved and important.
At his request, there will be no service.
Donations can be made in his memory to Fuzz Ball Rescue (his favorite local animal rescue) in care of Burns Mortuary.
Please share memories of Dick with his family at burnsmortuaryhermiston.com.
Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in care of arrangements.
