L. Jackson

FITCHBURG- L. Genevieve Jackson entered the next world on Friday, February 27, 2015. Born a twin Nov. 24, 1912, in Guilsfield, Wales, U.K. to parents Margaret E. Blayney and Thomas W. Jones. The family immigrated to America in mid-1913. Unfortunately, fraternal twin Dorothy, the weaker of the two, succumbed at sea. Dorothy's hair was chestnut in color, while Gen's was a lovely shade of auburn. Settling in Fitchburg in the Syene area, approximately three miles south from the City of Madison, Gen attended Syene Grade School, then Central High School, Madison. She attended UW-Madison for one year, having to drop out the next to be home to care for her very ill mother. Her father and her brother attended to her mother in the evenings. During this time, Gen attended Edgewood College night school, and took two correspondence courses from UW-Madison to keep up her credits. Before the year was over she realized the need of getting a business education in order to work to help pay for her mother's doctor bills that were piling up. She then enrolled at Madison Business College, graduating in 1935. She took employment at Wisconsin Telephone Company advancing from one position to another in several departments. Then, for the last fifteen years of her career, she held a management position in the Public Relations department, working on the Milwaukee payroll but stationed in Madison. She was assigned her own company Corvair Coupe, as she covered southern Wisconsin from LaCrosse east to Port Washington including everything south, with the exception of Milwaukee and its suburbs, calling on business firms to train personnel in good telephone usage and in the larger firms to train personnel in the proper usage of their elaborate wiring phone systems. She took retirement at age 58 in late September 1968.
In 1938, Gen married her first husband Erich Keller, of Wallisellen, Switzerland, a 1st LT. in the Swiss army. Erich had immigrated to Madison in the late 1920's. They both loved to travel, and visited all 48 State Capitols, and took in the highlights in each state. They toured all provinces of Canada, and took in the sights of Mexico at each border point of entry. In all, they had traveled in 11 foreign countries, spending most of their vacation time in their homeland countries of Great Britain and Switzerland. Completely devoted to one another, they enjoyed a blissful marriage of 22 � years before Erich passed away at age 52.
Gen's second marriage was to Robert C. Jackson, formerly of Seymour, Wis, who became a Madison resident when enrolling at UW-Madison and joined the R.O.T.C. When WWII broke out he volunteered in the army, holding the rank of Stf. Sgt. serving for four years in North Africa and Italy. Later, after marrying Gen, they also did a lot of traveling, taking in the two new states of Hawaii and Alaska. Gen had him visit the U.K. and Switzerland to get acquainted with her relatives, who all approved of Bob. They made several trips to Canada, where Bob loved to go fishing at Lake of the Woods, and Gen gathered up a car load of ladies from their favorite Lodge to go shopping mostly in Kenora and Winnipeg. They had a wonderful marriage of 17 � years, before Bob passed on at age 71. Gen was blessed with sharing a life of complete togetherness with both husbands.
Gen was a member of Grace Episcopal Church, Madison, and she also belonged to the Telephone Pioneers of America, as did Bob; the Swan Creek Sewing Circle; (this creek flowed thru the pasture of the Jones family farm) the Cambrian Welsh Club of Madison; the Ladies Auxiliary of Elks Lodge #410; the Fitchburg Historical Society; and the Fitchburg Senior Center.
Having no children of her own, and being the last living member of her family, she was very devoted to her nieces and nephews. So, in widowhood she moved back to Fitchburg to be near some of them.
She is survived by nieces, Aleta (Jackson) Barmore (Daune) and Barbara Stoneman; Nephews, Robert Jones (Ellen), Marc Jones (Lois); grandnephew and Godson Tom Stoneman; many other grand nieces and nephews, and their children and grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husbands; parents; sisters, Gladys Stoneman, Anna Hanson, Doris Gillette, and her twin sister Dorothy who died at sea at age 4 months; brother, Edwin Jones; nieces and nephews, Neal Jones, Betty Gillette, Edna Cross, Harold Stoneman, Don Stoneman, Bill Stoneman, Dorothy Goddard and Janet Keenan.
A funeral service will be held at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison, on Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. A visitation will be held at the funeral home on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service. Burial will follow at Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made to Agrace HospiceCare in Gen's name.
The family would like to thank the wonderful caregivers from Home Instead Senior Care and Agrace HospiceCare from providing excellent loving care for her final months.

Cress Funeral and Cremation Service
3610 Speedway Road, Madison
(608) 238-3434