Kathleen Jackson
Kathleen Hall Jackson, age 94, passed away on her father’s birthday, December 13, 2025, at the Niobrara Extended Care Center in Lusk, Wyoming. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, December 20, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at St. George Episcopal Church in Lusk, Wyoming. Interment will follow at the Node Cemetery.
Kathleen was born at the old Ivinson Hospital in Laramie, Wyoming, on September 24, 1931, to Ed and Rose Hall. The mountains, rivers, and creeks of Albany County helped shape her into the tough, independent woman she was. Fly fishing on the Little Laramie brought her the greatest joy; a good fight with a big brown trout was an absolute thrill that she cherished. Make no mistake—she was a world-class dry fly fisherman; she just did it for fun.
Education and ranching filled her life. Graduating from the University of Wyoming with an education degree in 1952, Kathleen taught school in Escondido, California; Saratoga, Wyoming; the Buckeye School in rural Albany County, Wyoming; Slade School in Laramie; and Wheatland Elementary in Wheatland, Wyoming, where she retired from teaching. As a teacher of primary students, her often-stated goal was to “teach them to read—if children can read, they can learn anything.”
Kathleen was born to be a rancher. Her father gave her early instruction in survival of the fittest in Centennial Valley along the banks of the Little Laramie. Forking hay and chopping ice all winter to keep livestock healthy and thriving created the determined, independent, tough woman she would need to be in life.
Kathleen was briefly married to Eugene Brown in 1953; a daughter, Kathleen (Katie), was born from this union. She married Richard (Dick) Jackson, whom she had known since she was 14, on October 30, 1954. Two additional children, Arleen (Buttons) and Richard (RJ), completed her family. Her belief in education and reading started at home-she made dang sure her own kids had access to books, and she monitored their use!
Dick and Kathleen left the ranch in Centennial Valley in 1969. They finished raising their family on a farm-and-ranch combination they purchased while teaching school in Platte County. Dick passed away in 1984 after a long, hard battle with mesothelioma cancer, when Kathleen was 52. After spending 43 years teaching school, Kathleen retired and moved to Niobrara County. She said it was easier because she wasn’t looking for Dick everywhere she went, and there was the rest of her life to fill up. Ranching full-time was exactly what she needed. So, she loaded her herd of sheep and 11 black cows and hit the road all by herself, with her loyal hired man Manuel in tow.
A life of hard work spent doing what she truly loved—arthritis finally slowed her down. She couldn’t check water or fix fence by herself anymore. She lived with her daughter for a couple of years and finally moved to the extended care facility in Lusk in 2023, when the crippling effects of arthritis demanded she slow down even more. Kathleen finally “retired” from ranching at age 93, selling her herd of fine-wooled Columbia sheep and her fantastic black Angus cows.
Kathleen was preceded in death by her parents, Ed and Rose Hall; her brother, Robert Hall; her son-in-law, Waldon York; and the love of her life, her husband Dick Jackson. She is survived by her daughters, Katie (Rod) Smith and Buttons York, and her son, RJ (Shawn) Jackson; grandchildren Merritt, Cinnamon, Megan, Elly, Odessa, Clay, Laramie, and Tally; and 15 great-grandchildren.
Mom loved her life filled with her family, livestock & her dogs, especially Border Collies—the ups, the downs, and the plain hard, heartbreaking times—It didn’t matter the times she lived in; it was Truly How She Lived her life. She lived her life her way and she did it with Class.
Pier Funeral Home in Lusk, Wyoming, is in charge of the arrangements.
Service will be live-streamed through this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6308...