Doris Jean “Jeanie” Jackson, 89, of Madison, Wisconsin passed away at Meriter Hospital on Monday October 19, 2026 after a brief illness. She was born in Copperhill, Tennessee to the late Edwin Arthur Hetzner and Lela Belle Hampton Hetzner in August 1937. She grew up in Copperhill and Austell Georgia, as well as Oak Ridge Tennessee. After graduating from Georgia State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, she worked at Trux Magazine before meeting the love of her life, Joe T. Jackson Jr., marrying in August 1963. As Joe was an officer in the Navy, the couple spent the next several years traveling and living in different locations in the US and abroad, including a year in Iceland. When Joe left the Navy and became an airline pilot, they settled near Poland, NY, where they lived for 18 years and welcomed their three children. They moved to Moon Township, PA in 1985 where they lived happily until 2022, when they moved to Madison Wisconsin to be closer to family.

Jeanie was loved by all who met her, with her outgoing personality and gift for talk. She could get to know anyone in a matter of minutes, with everyone asking where her accent was from - she never lost her sweet southern drawl in all her years of living outside of the south. She was a wonderful wife, mother, and grandmother, with her family as the center of her life. She loved to play the piano, carve elaborate Halloween pumpkins, and root for the Badgers, Packers, and Pittsburgh Steelers. She was also a big fan of classic TV and movies, with an encyclopedic knowledge of many famous movie and TV stars.

Jeanie is survived by her husband of 63 years, Joe, daughter Jill (Gregg) Baimel, daughter Joy (James) Altwies, son Jeffrey (Rosie Combs-Bachmann) Jackson, and grandchildren Jackson Baimel, Sadie Baimel, and Jacob Everett C.B. Jackson. She was preceded in death by her brothers Don Jo Hetzner and Douglas Glenn Hetzner.

Jeanie will be interred near her parents in the Barnes Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery in Blue Ridge, Georgia. To honor Jeanie’s life, please consider donating to the National Kidney Foundation or one of her favorite charities, Easterseals or the National Audubon Society.